In 2018/2019, the 80 years old street art pioneer Harald Naegeli (*1939) sprayed his last public artwork, the ‘Totentanz Cycle’ (Dance of Death), inside the Grossmünster. While he already had the idea 10 years earlier, he has only recently received the green light by the authorities.

Scope

Harald Naegeli started work on the Dance of Death end of November 2018 – free of charge. Soon the work came to a halt – Naegeli had sprayed slightly beyond the contractually agreed scope, which was enforced to the disappointment of the artist.

Harald Naegeli – a street art pioneer

Naegeli called the artwork a gift to his hometown, from which the later celebrated artist once fled to Germany. About 40 years ago, he was arrested in Zürich and sentenced. For years, the street art pioneer had spent nights incognito spraying mythical creatures and other shapes on public and private walls.