De Musica IV

Eduardo Chillida’s work helped define sculpture in the second half of the 20th century, with his monumental steel public sculptures taking on particular significance. The volume, weight, and haptic quality of the material form a relationship with the configuration of the space, so that the surroundings and empty spaces are incorporated as part of the design. The work De Musica IV was originally intended for Martinsplatz, but was installed in 2001 on the neighboring Münsterplatz instead. This placed the work within the context of the nearby church, encouraging formal and content-based comparisons of the two structures.
In his work, Chillida always strove to create a dialogue with philosophy, as well as other artists and art forms. Several works are dedicated to music like this one. It visualizes the rhythm, the pauses, a slowly evolving melody, and the way that themes vary in a piece of music. In this way, it manages to give the fleeting experience of music a lasting visual expression.