Hommage à J. S. Bach / Homage to J. S. Bach

Henri Nouveau, who was both a visual artist and a composer, designed an abstract monument to Johann Sebastian Bach in 1928 based on a stereometric representation of four bars (52-55) of the Baroque musician’s Fugue in E-flat minor. The design was kept as a model and realized as a sculpture in Leverkusen in 1968/70. Henri Nouveau created a geometric and three-dimensional translation of the musical motif as visual art.
The compositional principle of the fugue, which is based on a complicated variation and repetition of certain themes, is reproduced here as an equally complex arrangement of slanted metal elements of different heights. The arrangement and heights of the elements can be seen as a sort of artistic musical notation. Furthermore, the entire ensemble is reminiscent of an organ, which is fitting as a monument to Bach, who was an organist and composer of some of the most famous organ works.