These corpulent gentlemen seem somehow out of place here. But they don't let that show, on the contrary they even show off their foreignness with the equanimity of Hispanic grandees. The two fat men at the Rosentor in Goslar stand self-confident and a little defiant, plump and plump, plump and rosy. They are perfect representatives of the cheerful, naive art of the Colombian Fernando Botero. Latin America's most famous contemporary painter and sculptor loves to indulge in such voluminous curves. Ball heads, chubby cheeks and bellies, bulging hips, swelling thighs and mighty bottoms are the characteristics of his work, in his own words "a glorification of life that lies in the sensuality of the forms". But how did "woman with umbrella" and "man with stick"this weighty South American couple, lost in the lowlands of the Lower Saxony province of all places? What are the two strangers doing between half-timbered houses and the medieval city wall?
The solution to the riddle lies in the Goslarer Kaiserring, an international prize for the promotion of contemporary art that has been awarded every year since 1975. An exhibition of the artist should take place as part of the award ceremony and, if possible, at least one of his works should also remain in the city. The award is not endowed, but the Kaiserring, designed by the Worpswede goldsmith Hadfried Rinke, is a unique piece for each award winner. Even if the name suggests that a bridge is to be spanned from the past to the present, the turn to modern art was a daring experiment at the time - in a city that was primarily proud of its glorious history as a mining center and on its intact medieval townscapeboth have now been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Some people are still amazed that one of the most important art prizes in Germany was launched in this small town area at the foot of the Harz Mountains, and that it was able to maintain and even increase its reputation over the years.
In the backyard of world history
Perhaps it was due to the successful initial spark, because with Henry Moore, the first prize winner, they landed a coup right away. Thanks to a donation, his colossal statue "Fallen Warrior" could not only be erected in Goslar, but the artist also renamed it to "Goslar Warrior". He himself chose its future location: a little hidden in the garden behind the Kaiserpfalz. While the German Emperors Friedrich Barbarossa and Wilhelm I proudly sit enthroned on horseback on stone pedestals in front of the magnificent building, hailed as the “most famous residence of the empire” in the eleventh century, the stylized torso of the anonymously dying warrior lies in the backyard of world history - one consciously symbolic placement by the artist. Perhaps, however, he and the city of Goslar also had concerns at the timeto set up the extravagant bronze sculpture in a conspicuous and provocative manner in front of the imperial palace or between the medieval walls.