Keystone-SDA
The city of Neuchâtel also filed a criminal complaint for the theft of a sculpture representing David de Pury, his head stored in a concrete base, torn off a week ago. The amount of the damage is not communicated, the survey is underway.
(Keystone-ATS) The sculpture is not guaranteed, “as is the case for any work in public space. Insurance does not accept to take care of them because the risks of depredation, theft or weather damage is too high, “the city of Neuchâtel Sophieder’s communications in Keystone-ATS Wednesday in Keystone-ATS on Wednesday.
“We are awaiting the follow -up of the survey to decide on the next steps,” added the communications officer. The work of art was part of the work of memory on the colonial past of the city. David de Pury’s bronze statue, a merchant who had partially made a fortune with slavery, was criticized and had also been sprayed with red paint in July 2020.
In bronze on a concrete base, the sculpture of the Geneva artist Mathias Pfund, installed in 2022, revealed David de Pury upside down, head filed in his base, in the manner of the accidental reversal of the statue of the Scientist Neuchâtelis Louis Agassiz, at the University of California after an earthquake at the beginning of the 20th century.
Tags: several tens of thousands of francs
The city also underwent a series of tags in early August. Ten buildings or buildings belonging to it, including the collegiate church, the Latin college or the Museum of Ethnography have been affected. She filed another criminal complaint related to tags, like nine other private owners of the Neuchâtel coast.
“Tag cleaning was estimated at several tens thousand francs for the city of Neuchâtel,” added Sophie Schneider. Most tags have already been cleaned. The work is more delicate and will take more time with regard to the Museum of Ethnography (one week) and the Collegiate Church (two to three weeks) ”.
