Sculpture 'Le Rapt' - Troyes

The Rapture of Proserpine (the abduction of Coré by the god Hades in Roman mythology), a work by Auguste Suchetet in white marble, has stood in front of the prefecture of Troyes, Place de la Libération, since the end of 1949. The bronze version was cast in 1942.

In 1907, the city council planned to build a square in front of the prefecture. The sculptor Auguste Suchetet offered the city a bronze copy of his statue "Le Rapt" for 15,000 francs. He made the plaster model of the group between 1900 and 1902. The city of Paris bought it and ordered a marble reproduction, which was exhibited in the Petit Palais , the museum of modern art. The bronze copy was bought in 1907 by the then mayor Louis Mony, who planned to place the group of statues in the courtyard of the city hall. Suchetet opposed this idea, because the work had been made for the garden of the Préfecture. It was not until 1912, after much wrangling, that the statue was installed in the garden of the prefecture, but not everyone liked it, some finding it too immodest. In 1925, the creator could not appreciate the installation of the water jets from the esophagi of four frogs .

In 1942, the Naiad and her Triton suffered heavy losses: they were dismantled and taken by the Germans to be converted into shells.

On Christmas Eve 1949, "Le Rapt" in marble from the Petit Palais (which had become too unwieldy for the museum and no longer met the taste of the time) was given by the City of Paris to the City of Troyes and "Le Rapt" was returned to its pedestal in the garden of the Préfecture . While work was being done on the parking garage under the esplanade, the pair was moved to a spot near the town hall.

In 2012, the composition was replaced and now adorns the completely redesigned garden of the Place de la Libération.

Willem Vandenameele