Dance on the water

They embody joie de vivre and a great nonchalance: The three larger-than-life sculptures of the Rhinemaidens, who have been "dancing" on the banks of the Rhine in Mainz since 2004. The Worms sculptor Karlheinz Oswald is well known throughout the Mainz area for his charismatic depictions. His works are very popular and very recognizable.

The exhibited model for the “Rhinemaidens" sculpture group was acquired with the support of the Association of Friends of the Landesmuseum 2023. In these sculptures, the artist particularly succeeds depicting dynamism and speed. This contradicts the properties that we associate with iron as a heavy material from which the Rhinemaidens were cast. The fluidly modelled surfaces and the ecstatic, expansive postures create an almost weightless expression.

Who were the Rhinemaidens?

The Rhinemaidens are from Richard Wagner's opera "The Ring of the Nibelung" (1848 to 1874). The female beings named Wellgunde, Woglinde and Floßhilde guard the legendary Rhine gold in the Rhine. The dwarf Alberich, a Nibelung, tries in vain to win their favour, but the Rhinemaidens reject him. He then forcibly steals the gold from the Rhine and uses it to forge a ring. He also curses love itself. The ring and the curse give him his power. As the trilogy of the opera progresses, the Rhinemaidens try to get the ring back and with it the Rhine gold. But neither Alberich nor Wotan and Siegfried support them, as they are pursuing their own goals. Only Brünhild returns the ring to the Rhinemaidens.