Hommage to Mozart

This bizarre 9.5-foot-tall brass statue is artist Markus Lüpertz’s way of paying homage to Mozart. It’s an undoubtedly strange statue, one you likely won’t find on any tourist brochures or maps in Salzburg.

In Hommage to Mozart, Lüpertz sculpted the famous classical composer as half male, half female. He put a bust of Mozart wearing his signature wig atop the naked body of a woman. The figure’s body is rough and lumpy, making the finished piece look more like a rough draft. The statue also looks like one of its arms has fallen off, though this missing limb was also intentional.

Lüpertz created the unique, unflattering statue as a tribute to Mozart’s virtuosity and the conflicts he faced within his life. It’s a not-so-subtle hint at the inward turmoil the composer faced. The entire statue is a mashup of contradictions like male versus female, fragment versus whole, and strength versus tenderness.

Unfortunately for the artwork, Lüpertz’s statue was not met with a positive reaction. It was once even tarred and feathered, which caused it to lose much of its paint when the vandalism was removed.