Historic Enrique Grau sculpture in Cartagena vandalized with blue paint

A historic sculpture in Cartagena’s old city awoke covered in blue paint, prompting an urgent call to protect both the artwork and the public space around it.

The vandalized work, “The Saint and the Slave,” is the creation of Cartagena-born artist Enrique Grau, who died in 2004. The paint attack targeted the figure of San Pedro Claver, the Jesuit priest known as “the slave of the slaves.” The sculpture honors his encounter with an enslaved African who arrived at the port of Cartagena.

The Museum of Modern Art of Cartagena Enrique Grau formally reported the damage. Its director, Eduardo Hernández, said the incident showed not only the physical alteration of an important artwork but also the gradual deterioration of the surrounding urban environment.

“It is important to rescue this space of memory within the Historic Center, which today is invaded by all kinds of vendors and is completely dark,” Hernández said. He called on district authorities and the Public Space Office to take control of the area.

The sculpture is the last work Grau donated during his lifetime to his native city. Grau became one of the three leading figures of modern Colombian art, alongside Alejandro Obregón and Fernando Botero. He began shaping his artistic language in Cartagena as a child, working with sea sand and clay, and later studied in the United States and Italy after winning the National Artists’ Salon in 1940 with “Cartagenera Mulatta.”

Cultural managers and museum officials are demanding an emergency plan for Plaza de San Pedro. Their requests include restoring the damaged sculpture and improving security in the area.

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It is important to rescue this space of memory within the Historic Center, which today is invaded by all kinds of vendors and is completely dark. We call on the authorities and the Public Space Office to take control of this area, which is so important to the city.