Muze

Muze hangs on the west façade of Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, where its golden surface stands out against the theatre’s plain wall. A female figure raises both arms above a curved base, creating a strong vertical shape. Her left hand carries a palm branch, while her right hand holds a theatrical mask. Artillery and banners gather beneath her feet, linking the scene to the Second World War.

Leo Brom developed the sculpture between 1940 and 1941 with architect Willem Dudok, whose theatre design provided its setting. Dudok had already imagined façade sculpture in a 1937 sketch. Brom shaped the figure from red copper and covered it with gold leaf at the Brom silversmith workshop. Meetings, letters, models, and sketches helped align the sculpture with the west wing.

Decorative lettering beneath the figure presents art as rising above the troubles of its time. The theatre opened in 1941, with the sculpture installed on its façade earlier that summer. Theatre staff gave the golden shape the nickname de dasspeld, meaning “the tie pin,” because it resembled one hanging against the wall. That small comparison remains a memorable contrast to the palm branch, mask, and war equipment below.