Jeff Koons has announced his decision to make a long-term loan of Pluto and Proserpina, the faux-gilded stainless steel sculpture with live flowering plants currently on display in piazza della Signoria.
The decision by the American artist has sparked debate among Florentines as to a suitable site for the work, slated to be removed on January 21. The work is insured for 7.5 million euro, and the cost of the premium depends on the work’s placement.
As discussions continue between the City of Florence and Koons, among the suggestions circulating are that the sculpture be placed in a museum courtyard, such as that of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi or the Museo del Novecento, or at Florence’s new opera house.
It could also become a fountain, as it contains the appropriate mechanism. There is also the possibility that the statue’s base could remain in situ to welcome another work of contemporary art.
