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VERSAILLES

Graffiti to be removed from ‘queen’s vagina’

Anti-Semitic graffiti scrawled on a controversial sculpture by Anish Kapoor at the Palace of Versailles in France will be removed under the supervision of the artist, authorities said Friday.

Published: 18 September 2015 13:11 CEST
Graffiti to be removed from 'queen's vagina'
The "Queen's Vagina" at Versailles has been hit by vandals again. Photo: AFP

Called “Dirty Corner” but dubbed the “queen's vagina”, the 60-metre (200-foot) long, 10-metre high funnel-like sculpture has been repeatedly vandalised since it was unveiled in the palace's gardens in June.

When anti-Semitic graffiti was daubed on it this month, Kapoor said he wanted the “abominable words” to be left.

But the 61-year-old British-Indian superstar artist has had a change of mind.


(Photo: AFP)

The authorities who run the palace outside Paris said work will begin in the next few days “to cover up the damage, under the supervision of the artist”.

Kapoor's work is not the first to be defaced recently in France.

In October 2014, vandals in Paris's chic Place Vendome deflated a massive sculpture by American artist Paul McCarthy that was shaped like a sex toy.

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VERSAILLES

Versailles Palace to finally receive delivery… 400 years after losing its marble

A misplaced block of red marble ordered by France's former royal residence in the 17th century has been found in a quarry on the other side of the country, more than 400 years later. And it's finally on it's way to the customer.

Published: 20 February 2019 15:26 CET
Versailles Palace to finally receive delivery... 400 years after losing its marble
Photos: AFP

The next time you order something online and it gets lost in the post, spare a though for the royal architect who in 17th century France ordered a block of red marble, only to never receive it during his lifetime.

A few weeks ago in the southern department of Aude, a full 782 kilometres from the Palace of Versailles, a team of diggers working at a quarry finally stumbled upon the mislaid delivery.

After a thorough cleanup, initial expert investigations were able to conclude that this was indeed the lost regal block.

“The marble was commissioned for a set of 12 columns that were to be part of a chapel,” Kharid Massoud, president of the marble-promoting association Marbres en Minervois, told Le Parisien.

“The project was eventually abandoned.”

Photo: Joe de Sousa/Flickr

Despite that fact, and a delay that clearly deserves a place in the record books, the delivery to the majestic royal palace will resume as soon as possible.

However, the logistics team behind the move have decided that transportation of the marble block should adhere to the standards and practices of the 1600s.

That means taking it by horse and chariot to the famous Canal du Midi, then by raft along the canal through the cities and towns of Carcassonne, Castelnaudary, Toulouse and Bordeaux.

From there it will be transported up to Rouen in Normandy and finally down the Seine river to Paris and then Versailles.

Fortunately, there shouldn’t be anyone at the palace eagerly waiting to get their hands on the block of marble, as the estimated time of arrival in Versailles is four to five years.

Better late than never, we suppose.  

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