The

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

, Ludwigs Erbe is an artwork of the sculptor

Peter Lenk Peter Lenk (born 6 June 1947, in Nuremberg) is a German sculptor based in Bodman-Ludwigshafen on Lake Constance, known for the controversial sexual content of his public art. Art Lenk's artworks include: *''Imperia'', a ten-meter-tall rotat ...

, on the wall of the town hall of Ludwigshafen am Bodensee,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The sculpture attracted attention nationwide because it features naked representations of famous politicians, including

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...

History of the artwork

The art project was initiated by the local association for promotion of tourism in 2003 and was approved in a council meeting under the working title "Toilet Drama and Feudalism". Contrary to what was reported in the media, the artwork was not funded by the municipality with taxpayers' money. Instead the association of Kunstfreunde Bodman-Ludwigshafen e.V. contributed to the costs of creating the artwork, which are estimated between €30,000 and €35,000 (according to minutes of the municipal council); the community contributed €1,500 towards the artwork. According to Lenk, only the middle section of the triptych was transferred to the art association. The two side sections initially remained in Lenk's possession and were offered for sale to the municipality in 2010. The July 2010 the municipal council decided to buy the two side sections for €40,000, and in November the art association decided to transfer the middle section to the municipality. In return, the municipality undertook to keep the triptych in its entirety and make it publicly available.

Description of the artwork

The title of the artwork alludes to Grand Duke Ludwig von Baden who governed Ludwigshafen for twelve years and gave the town its name. In the middle section of the triptych, the Grand Duke sits on a throne overlooking the scene in which mainly current people and events are satirised. In the right section of the artwork, five politicians are represented naked and touching each other's genitals: under the banner "Global Players" the represented characters appear to be

Hans Eichel Hans Eichel (born 24 December 1941) is a German politician ( SPD) and the co-founder of the G20, or "Group of Twenty", an international forum for the governments and central bank governors of twenty developed and developing nations to discuss ...

Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany ...

Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber (born 28 September 1941) is a German politician who served as the 16th Minister President of the States of Germany, state of Bavaria between 1993 and 2007 and chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, Christian So ...

and

Guido Westerwelle Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person ...

. At the bottom, renowned top managers are represented bathing in gold coins like the cartoon character

Scrooge McDuck Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...

. The characters here appear to be

Josef Ackermann Josef Meinrad Ackermann (born 7 February 1948) is a Swiss banker, former Chairman of the Bank of Cyprus, and former chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank. He has also been a member of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, th ...

, Daimler boss

Dieter Zetsche Dieter Zetsche (; born on 5 May 1953) is a German engineer and business executive. He is the chairman of TUI AG. He was the chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz until 22 May 2019, a role he had held since 200 ...

, the former chairman of the Volkswagen board

Ferdinand Piëch Ferdinand Karl Piëch (; 17 April 1937 – 25 August 2019) was an Austrian business magnate, engineer and executive who was the chairman of the executive board (''Vorstandsvorsitzender'') of Volkswagen Group in 1993–2002 and the chairman of th ...

and the former head of Energie Baden-Württemberg

Utz Claassen Utz Claassen (born May 7, 1963 in Hannover) is a German manager, management consultant, entrepreneur, investor and author. He has held senior management positions in some of Germany’s most prominent companies such as Volkswagen and EnBW. Educat ...

References

{{reflist Public art in Germany Triptychs 2003 establishments in Germany 2003 sculptures Political controversies in Germany Nude sculptures in Germany