Heinrich Heine Monument

Essays on the history of a Heinrich Heine Monument in Düsseldorf are yet to written. Let it be briefly mentioned here that there had already been discussion about erecting a monument to the poet for his 100th birthday in 1887.Political developments, particularly in connection with the poet’s Jewish descent, repeatedly led to further debate on the topic, so that the monument wasn’t actually constructed until 100 years later. Still, the heated controversy was renewed prior to its realization with the initial idea to use Arno Breker’s 1931 design depicting the poet as an idealized, pensive young man. In the end, that monument was erected in Norderney and a design by Bert Gerresheim was realized in Düsseldorf. Gerresheim’s sculpture is based on Heinrich Heine’s death mask, which the artist enlarged, exaggerated, and broke into several parts that were placed on the ground inside and outside of a cuboid made of metal rods. The composition was supplemented with additional objects that are characteristic of the writer. This version is meant to convey the poet’s inner conflict, as well as conflicts within Düsseldorf politics and among Germans in general when it comes to the poet and his work.

Reference: www.wikipedia.org