# Vandalised bust of Pierre Destombes

This bronze head comes from the monumental bust of Pierre Destombes, an industrialist, patron of the arts and deputy mayor of Roubaix.

Commissioned for the Barbieux Park, the monument celebrated his work in favour of culture and urban development, in particular the park laid out thanks to his patronage in 1905.

The head, found after the theft and vandalism of the bust in 2023, is now preserved at the La Piscine museum as a fragment of this lost public sculpture. It exemplifies official sculpture and the phenomenon of "statuomania", which saw thousands of statues of prominent figures erected across France.

This fragment also highlights the fragility of artworks in public spaces, the issue of vandalism in art, and reminds us of the important place that art holds in society.

Bust of Pierre Destombes, Archives Bn-R