Wilhelm Wandschneider, Aphrodite, 1941

Bronze, 183 x Diameter 49,5 cm
Collection Nordico Stadtmuseum Linz, Inv. Nr. O 723

In 1942, the statue ​“Aphrodite” was erected in the Rundsäulentempel in Bauernberg park in Linz. This was a gift from Adolf Hitler, who had seen the original of this sculpture at the Great German Art Exhibition in 1940 and commissioned a re-casting. In 2008, the artist Alexander Jöchl drew attention to this historical context with his installation ​“formless”. In 2017, after heated discussions about the ​“right” way to deal with the Nazi legacy, the Cultural Advisory Board of the Linz City Council decided to present the sculpture at the Nordico and contextualise its history at its former location.

Photo: Norbert Artner