Markus Lüpertz (b. 1941, Liberec, Bohemia) is an internationally celebrated painter and sculptor whose work blends figuration and abstraction. His sculptures often refer to the canon of art history, from Greek antiquity to the Renaissance.

Lüpertz’s bronze sculpture, Judith, represents the biblical heroine by the same name: a strong-minded widow set out to defeat her hometown Bethulias conquerors. With devious intentions and alluring beauty she managed to seduce and behead the enemy general, Holofernes, which in turn resulted in her enemies’ dispersal. Lüpertz’s Judith, with characteristics such as an elongated neck, oversized head and bulky silhouette, does not outwardly resemble a classical beauty. These formal qualities instead represent a different sculptural tradition in which the simplification of certain shapes is contrasted by the enhancement of others. Her rough appearance and inner strength is unlike anything else at Ekebergparken and will be an engaging and important contribution to the park’s permanent sculpture collection. 

Judith, 1995

Bronze

© Markus Lüpertz / BONO 2017