''Headbutt'' (french: Coup de tête) is a sculpture by French-Algerian artist

Adel Abdessemed Adel Abdessemed (born 1971) is an Algerian-French contemporary artist. He has worked in a variety of artistic media, media, including animation, installation art, installation, performance art, performance, sculpture and video art, video. Som ...

. It is 5 m (16.4 ft) tall and made from

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. It was unveiled on 26 September 2012 at the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Background

The sculpture depicts an incident that took place in the 110th minute of the

2006 FIFA World Cup Final The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 9 July 2006 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, to determine the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The match was contested between Italy and France. Italy won the Wor ...

between

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, when

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...

headbutted Italian defender

Marco Materazzi Marco Materazzi (; born 19 August 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. Early in his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Everton in the Premier League. He spent two per ...

in the chest after Materazzi had verbally provoked him. Zidane consequently received a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

and was sent off. France lost the match, which was Zidane's final match as a professional footballer.

Exhibition

Pompidou Centre

As France subsequently lost the match, exhibition organiser Alain Michaud has described it as "...against the tradition of making statues in honour of certain victories. It is an ode to defeat".

Qatar Museums Authority

As part of

Qatar Museums Authority Qatar Museums (formerly the Qatar Museums Authority) is a Qatari government entity that oversees the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, MIA Park, QM Gallery at Katara, ALRIWAQ DOHA Exhibition Space, the Al Zubarah ...

public art program the sculpture was brought to

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

for an undisclosed amount on 4 October 2013, intended to be permanently installed on the

Corniche A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising on one side and falling away on the other. The word has been absorbed into English from the French term ' or "road on a ledge", originally derived from the Itali ...

near Al Mourjan restaurant. The sculpture was removed on 30 October, owing to criticism from Islamic conservatives who complained that glorifying the infamous act of violence set a bad example for local youth and bordered on idolatry. It was then moved into the

Arab Museum of Modern Art Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (متحف : المتحف العربي للفن الحديث) in Doha, Qatar, offers an Arab perspective on modern and contemporary art and supports creativity, promotes dialogue and inspires new ideas. The museu ...

in Doha. The statue has also been exhibited in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

and

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

References

{{coord missing, Qatar Bronze sculptures in Paris 2012 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Paris Buildings and structures in Doha 2006 FIFA World Cup Association football sculptures Zinedine Zidane Statues of sportspeople Statues in France Statues in Qatar Sculptures of men Sports culture in France Cultural depictions of association football players Cultural depictions of French men Cultural depictions of Italian men category:Sculptures in the collection of the Musée National d'Art Moderne

Background

Exhibition

Pompidou Centre

Qatar Museums Authority

See also

References