Square shape with Cut is the first major work of contemporary art that enriched the city of Prato in 1974, becoming the symbol of modernity and the beginning of a new era in urban design. Initially, the city was not used to contemporary works of art and, perhaps, it was not fully understood (the Pecci centre only opened in June 1988). However, over time, this superb work has become an integral part of the city scenery. Located in San Marco Square, with the majestic Calvana mountains in the background and the ancient Porta Fiorentina (destroyed in the nineteenth century) which was nearby, it stands out among the numerous works present in our territory.

The monumental sculpture was purchased by the Municipality of Prato together with important industrial entrepreneurs, such as Gori and Bertini, after the monographic exhibition dedicated to the British artist Henry Moore, held in 1972 at the Forte Belvedere in Florence. This remarkable work is composed of thirty large blocks of white Apuan marble, to which Henry Moore, one of the greatest exponents of twentieth-century art, gave the appearance of an organic expansion, almost generated or animated by an internal force to the matter itself. The impressive sculpture stands over 5 meters high and weighs almost 170 tons! Through this creation, Moore wanted to realise an architectural work capable of combining sculpture and landscape in a gently tense harmony, thanks to the skilful play of voids and solids that characterizes it.

Square Shape with Cut represents one of the symbols of modernity that the city wanted to give to its citizens, placing it in a public context in the centre of a very busy intersection. It embodies the perfect union between contemporary art, culture and daily life, offering everyone an extraordinary aesthetic experience and stimulating reflection on the relationship between man, nature and modernity itself.