Feest der muzen

Feest der muzen is a fountain sculpture in Utrecht, combining bronze figures, granite surfaces and moving water. Joop Hekman created the artwork. The sculpture presents three muses from Greek mythology, each connected with a different performing art. Melpomene represents tragedy, while Terpsichore connects dance with lyrical poetry. Thaleia represents comedy and links the sculpture to the nearby Stadsschouwburg theatre. The figures rise more than three metres above a granite base measuring three metres across. Thirty-three water jets animate the granite base. Three central jets send tall streams over the figures, while others form arches and bubbles. Italian granite surrounds the bronze group, and lamps at the base allow nighttime illumination. The sculpture stands at Lucasbolwerk near the city theatre. Hekman made Feest der muzen as his largest sculptural group, with figures arranged across the water feature. The bronze figures were cast at the Rijnlandse Bronsgieterij in Leiden.

Hekman was born in Utrecht in 1921 and spent most of his life working in the city. He studied sculpture and goldsmithing in Arnhem. After the Second World War, Utrecht’s Fonds Stadsverfraaiing supported plans for a fountain near the theatre. The project eventually joined public art with the city’s performing-arts setting. Feest der muzen remains a distinctive Utrecht work where sculpture, water and public space meet.