Javacheff christo

The wall, wrapped Roman Wall, Porta pinciana

Short Review

It should be said that the Aurelian Walls are among the most impressive and best preserved monuments of ancient Rome. They were built by Emperor Aurelian between 270 and 275 A.C. to defend the city from the barbarians who descended from northern Europe and whose incursions became increasingly dangerous given the political and military weakness of the empire. The legions on the limes were continually subjected to the attacks of these populations who intended to appropriate the wealth of the empire. In addition, the legions suffered from a general relaxation of military discipline and vigour due to the turbulent decision-making policy of the Senate and the emperors of Rome. It also did not help the fact that the legions deployed on the limes had many barbarians among the ranks and therefore for this reason lack of discipline and attachment to Rome. Christo packed that section of the walls that marks the passage between Via Veneto and Villa Borghese for a length of 250 meters encompassing four doors of which three trucks and one pedestrian. In the case of our work Javacheff Christo represents three doors, the central pedestrian one and the two side trucks. Apart from the silhouettes of two people walking, a car and a bus passing through the doors, the work is depicted as if you were looking at it with your gaze shaving to the ground and this makes the imposing packaging stand out while the full-bodied white cloth reported on the work premieres and draws our attention to the rest of the representation that deliberately merely stands out to some relief of the stakes. The package was made in the period February-March 1974 and, contrary to his other plans, Christo made the work last for 40 days. At the time of the installation usually the air of Rome is clear and the sun shining, so let's imagine that the light reflected on the white cloth, which stands out on a blue sky, has particularly fascinated Christo who wanted to make this emotion giving much pre-eminence to the representation of the walls at the expense of other variables that he generally uses in his works such as maps and photos of the area.

We also attach a photo of the work

Tags: Aurelian Wall - Javacheff Christo - Christo