Why is there an Egyptian figure at the feet of the Nikolaus Lenau monument?

6 comments

1. He was half Egyptian 

2. I couldn’t find much, it was made by Karl Schwerzek, and the egyptian figure is described as a sphinx (which might be intended as the greek mythology one, I’m not sure)- but searching for Nikolaus Lenau and Sphinx didn’t turn up anything unrelated to the monument.

   [http://www.viennatouristguide.at/Ring/Denkmal_Bild/z_lenau.htm](http://www.viennatouristguide.at/Ring/Denkmal_Bild/z_lenau.htm)

3. [https://www.austriasites.com/vienna/bezirk01_nikolaus_lenau_denkmal.htm](https://www.austriasites.com/vienna/bezirk01_nikolaus_lenau_denkmal.htm)

   In the newspaper article about the revelation, it says: “[…] Sphinx as the unsolved riddle of a poet’s tragic life.”

4. The Sphinx is supposed to symbolize the unsolved riddle of the poet’s life. According to newspaper articles from when it was revealed. (https://www.austriasites.com/vienna/bezirk01_nikolaus_lenau_denkmal.htm) My personal opinion, the sculptor wanted to add something Egyptian because it looks cool.

5. symbol for strength, wisdom, mystery…

6. Lenau war ein Dichter der Romantik und hat sich mit Todessehnsucht und Melancholie beschäftigt. Der agyptische Sphinx Kopf ist eine Allegorie und verkörpert das Rätsel des Lebens und Todes. Es ist quasi ein Symbol für das was Lenau oft thematisierte und zeitlebens beschäftigte.

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