The Mayor of Naples, Italy, Gaetano Manfredi, revealed today that an outdoor display of the installation "Venus of Rags," one of the most famous works by contemporary Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, was "damaged by arson."
In a statement to reporters in front of the burned artwork, Manfredi described the incident as "a destructive act," which is under police investigation. He clarified that a new copy of the artwork will be created with crowdfunding support.
The giant new version of the installation, of which several copies are exhibited in museums around the world, was displayed two weeks ago in the square of Montecitorio, in the heart of the southern Italian city.
The Venus of Rags symbolizes the Arte Povera movement, which Pistoletto helped to establish, depicting the Roman goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, Venus, standing before a pile of rags.
The installation, first created in 1967, aims to express the proximity between eternal beauty, represented by the goddess Venus, and the social fracture and consumerism of modern society.
In statements to the Italian news agency ADN Kronos, Pistoletto said that the destruction of the artwork reflects how "we continue to respond with fire and war to any display of beauty, peace, and harmony."
