Brussels Scraps Controversial Nativity Scene for Good
Artist Victoria-Maria Geyer withdrew her controversial faceless nativity installation from Brussels' Grand Place after enduring death threats, harassment, and vandalism including the beheading of the Baby Jesus figure.
Artist Victoria-Maria Geyer has withdrawn her installation after enduring a sustained backlash that included death threats, harassment, and the physical beheading of the Baby Jesus figure, according to Brussels Signal.
Geyer’s work, titled Les Étoffes de la Nativité, had replaced a beloved wooden nativity scene that had stood in the historic square for more than 25 years. The new installation featured life-sized figures draped in colorful fabrics but deliberately left without faces—a design choice the German-born artist claimed would enable universal identification across religious and cultural lines.
The €58,000 project was originally commissioned for a five-year run and received approval from both Brussels city authorities and local Catholic leadership.
Public Rejection and Vandalism
Reaction from the Belgian public was immediate and overwhelmingly negative. Georges-Louis Bouchez, leader of the Mouvement Réformateur party, condemned the faceless figures as resembling zombies and accused officials of sacrificing Western Christian heritage on the altar of multiculturalism.
Polling data revealed massive public disapproval of the installation. A petition demanding restoration of a traditional nativity scene attracted tens of thousands of signatures within days.
The situation deteriorated further when vandals decapitated the Baby Jesus figure shortly after the unveiling, forcing city officials to install round-the-clock video surveillance.
Artist Retreats Under Pressure
Geyer told Belgian daily La Libre Belgique that she felt engulfed by a firestorm from the moment the installation was revealed. Among the harassment she endured was someone mailing her a niqab—a pointed commentary on the perceived Islamization of European public spaces.
The artist has now decided to relocate her work to the Church of Our Lady of Good Aid near Fontainasplein, removing it entirely from public view.
Brussels Mayor Philippe Close of the Socialist Party has confirmed the city administration is actively searching for a replacement nativity scene ahead of the 2026 Christmas market.
Many saw it as another example of the erasure of Europe’s traditional symbols to accommodate multiculturalism.
With information from Brussels Signal
