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Lorelei Fountain

Lorelei Fountain, also known as the Heinrich Heine Memorial, is a monument on East 161st Street in the Concourse section of the Bronx, New York City, near the Bronx County Courthouse. Designed by German sculptor Ernst Herter, it was created in 1896 out of Italian white marble in Laas, South Tyrol. The fountain was unveiled at its current location in 1899 and is dedicated to German poet and writer Heinrich Heine. Heine had written a poem about the Lorelei, a feminine water spirit associated with the Lorelei rock in St. Goarshausen, Germany. The monument was originally intended for Düsseldorf, but its planned completion there was blocked by antisemitism and nationalist propaganda.

The Lorelei Fountain, a stone fountain with a standing figure on a tall pedestal and smaller figures in a stepped basin, set in a wooded park.
The Lorelei Fountain stands in a park setting, with a central figure atop a tall pedestal and smaller sculptural figures around the basin.
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Lorelei Fountain in a snow-dusted park with an ornate stone basin and sculpture, with city buildings and a large screen behind it.
Lorelei Fountain stands in a snowy Bronx park, with urban buildings visible in the background.
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The Lorelei Fountain, a stone monument with a seated figure at the top and smaller carved figures around the base.
The Lorelei Fountain in a historic photograph, showing its tiered stone sculpture and carved figures.
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Lorelei Fountain with a seated female figure and smaller figures at the base in front of a brick apartment building.
Lorelei Fountain in the Bronx, shown as a white stone sculpture group outdoors.
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The Lorelei Fountain, a light-colored sculpted stone monument, stands behind a black metal fence in a park with bare trees and city buildings.
The Lorelei Fountain in a public park, shown on an overcast day.
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Identification

TitleLorelei Fountain
TypeFountain monument
Alternative namesHeinrich Heine Memorial; Heinrich Heine Monument; Loreley Fountain

Historical context

Project originInitiated by a Heine memorial committee in Düsseldorf in autumn 1887 during the Heine renaissance
Intended dedication date1897, for Heinrich Heine's 100th birthday
Reason the Düsseldorf plan failedAntisemitism and nationalist agitation in the German Empire

Creator

ArtistErnst Herter
Artist nationalityGerman
Artist's residenceBerlin

Discovery and provenance

Estimated cost by Herter32,000 to 40,000 marks
Later funding for restorationAbout $700,000 in private donations; a 50,000-mark donation from Johannes Rau is also mentioned
Contracted workA pedestal for the monument
Contract dateDecember 1892
Commissioning and fundingCommissioned by the Heine monument committee in Düsseldorf; later supported by the city of New York and New York committees, with a promised 50,000-mark donation from Empress Elisabeth conditioned on Herter executing the monument
Initial fundraisingBy January 1889, 15,000 marks had been raised in public donations
First model/date of designThe first design was available by the time of the successful Düsseldorf vote on 6 March 1888; a design dated December 1887 is also mentioned
Date created1896
Place of creationLaas, South Tyrol

Physical characteristics

MaterialItalian white marble (White Laaser marble)
Dimensions/formA life-size Lorelei figure rises above a fountain basin on a pedestal/base supported by three volutes
Additional figuresThree female figures in the basin, described as nymphs or mermaids
Inscriptions/signatureDedication inscription: "IHREM GROSSEN DICHTER DIE DEUTSCHEN IN AMERIKA"; artist signature: "Professor / E. Herter, Berlin / fecit / 1897 · Marmorwerke Laas, Tirol"; the poet's name appears below Heine's portrait relief

Appearance

Water featuresThree dolphin heads spouting water into shells between the three auxiliary figures
Additional reliefsA naked boy wearing a fool's cap pointing his pen at a dragon; a sphinx embracing a naked young man in the kiss of death
Relief and ornamentationA profile portrait relief of Heine on the front of the base, between two volutes, encircled by a palm branch and a fir/spruce branch
Auxiliary figure appearanceThe melancholy figure has long, unadorned hair and looks sadly downward
Figure arrangementThe poetry figure is left of the Heine relief and is the only one facing it; the satire figure is to the right and turns her upper body toward Heine; the melancholy figure is at the back
CostumeLorelei wears non-contemporary garb, including a necklace in her décolleté and an embroidered mantle/jacket draped over her hips
Main figureLorelei seated on the pedestal, combing her golden hair and looking downward in thought rather than singing

Iconography and meaning

DedicationDedicated to the memory of German poet and writer Heinrich Heine
Subject associationHeine had written a poem about the Lorelei, a feminine water spirit associated with the Lorelei rock in St. Goarshausen, Germany
Figure symbolismThe three auxiliary figures represent poetry, satire, and melancholy
Poetry figure meaningIts rose and direct orientation toward Heine express an especially intimate relationship between poetry and Heine
Humor relief meaningThe boy with the fool's cap and dragon symbolizes humor; the dragon may represent prejudice and public opinion that Heine wanted to fight with satirical-critical humor
Sphinx relief meaningThe sphinx scene may symbolize the kiss of death because the Riddle of the Sphinx has not been resolved

Location and ownership

Unveiled locationThe Bronx, New York City
Other proposed locationsMainz, Germany; Grand Army Plaza entrance to Central Park at 5th Avenue and 59th Street; Brooklyn; Queens; Baltimore; William Steinway's Bowery Bay Beach park; Starin's Glen Island park
Original planned locationDüsseldorf, Germany, including proposals for the Hofgarten and the eastern end of the Botanical Garden
Specific siteSouthern end of Joyce Kilmer Park, near East 161st Street and the Grand Concourse, opposite the Bronx County Courthouse
Current locationJoyce Kilmer Park, Bronx, New York City, United States

History and restoration

Key dates6 March 1888 Düsseldorf approval; 24 January 1893 Düsseldorf withdrawal; 10 July 1893 Mainz authorization; 31 October 1894 Mainz rejection; 10 March 1896 New York City Council vote; 4 March 1896 New York State law; 8 July 1899 unveiling; 1940 relocation and partial repair; 8 July 1999 rededication
UnveilingUnveiled on 8 July 1899 in the Bronx; Ernst Herter was present
Unveiling attendance4,000 to 6,000 people, with European press claiming 25,000
Initial receptionThe monument provoked years of controversy over Heine's worthiness for commemoration, with nationalist and antisemitic opposition
VandalismRepeatedly vandalized from soon after unveiling; the lyric-poetry figure's head was cut off in 1900, the mermaids' arms were cut off in 1900, later the female figures' heads were broken off again, and the monument was covered with graffiti
Protection and maintenanceThe monument was guarded by police; Hermann Klaas, a Düsseldorf dentist nicknamed the 'Heine scrubber,' regularly cleaned graffiti
Relocation and restorationMoved to the northern end of the park and partially repaired in 1940; a complete restoration and return to the original site was proposed in 1987 under the Municipal Art Society of New York's 'Adopt a Monument' program and the fountain was ceremonially reopened after the park surroundings were redesigned in 1999
Restoration estimateInitially estimated at $275,000 in 1987

Significance

Critical receptionCritics described the design as dry, weak, unconventional, mediocre, indecent, or pornographic
SupportersPaul Heyse; Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary; Carl Schurz; Friedrich Nietzsche; Frankfurter Zeitung; Börsen-Courier; Berliner Tageblatt; Neue Freie Presse; the New York World; the Arion Society of New York; the Heine Memorial Association; George Ehret; supporters in Frankfurt, Mainz, and New York
OpponentsFriedrich Frey; Franz Sandvoß; Georg von Schönerer; conservative newspapers such as Der Reichsbote, Neue Preußische Zeitung (Kreuzzeitung), and Tägliche Rundschau