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Sure, colouring animals a deep blue is not without precedent in German art, but when that animal is enthroned over Trafalgar Square it is quite an honour. Katharina Fritsch was given this honour. And there he perches, her blue cockerel on the famous pedestal. By Uwe Rau

The Royal Baby has arrived and is dominating British and international news. The bells in Queen’s Tower of Imperial College right across the street from the Goethe-Institut in London also rang in honour of the new, little prince. Being swept up in the enthusiasm makes it hard for even the staunchest republicans to not become monarchists.

A few days ago, with a little help from the Goethe-Institut, a new work of art was also introduced to the world on Trafalgar Square. Quite by coincidence it even made reference to the birth of the future heir to the throne.



In the past seven years, the Fourth Plinth on the northwestern corner of Trafalgar Square has become the home of some of the world’s most innovative artworks. The plinth was originally designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1841 for an equestrian statue that was never completed due to a lack of funds. Over one hundred and fifty years later, in 1998, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) commissioned three contemporary sculptures from the artists Mark Wallinger, Bill Woodrow and Rachel Whiteread to be exhibited temporarily on the Fourth Plinth. The project was then abandoned in favour of a permanent equestrian statue. The public, however, showed a great interest in alternating contemporary art, encouraging the then mayor to launch the Fourth Plinth Project. Since then, imaginative works of art by British and international artists have been exhibited on the vacant fourth plinth.

Now, after Thomas Schütte, the commission went to another German artist. Katharina Fritsch from Düsseldorf is presenting her work Hahn/Cock. The 4.7-metre-high sculpture of an ultramarine rooster made of steel and glass fibre communicates at a number of levels. It surprisingly accentuates the predominantly grey architecture of Trafalgar Square, and the size and colour of the bird produce a surreal or simply unusual situation. The Goethe-Institut provided funding as a partner in the Fourth Plinth Project.

The sculptor worked on her statue for two and a half years. The cock is typical Fritsch. The 57-year-old has specialized in life-sized or larger-than-life sculptures of people and animals or symbolic objects in conspicuously intense colours. The cock is also a symbol for renewal, departure and strength. At the same time, according to Fritsch, the statue is intended to dryly reference “male-dominated British society and views of biological determinism.” At the unveiling of the sculpture Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and a representative of this very society, in fact avoided the suggestive word “cock” and remained ornithologically vague by announcing, “Here it is, the big blue ... bird.”

We can only end with a motto from the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom: “Honi soit qui mal y pense” (Evil be to him who evil thinks), which leads us back to France, thus closing – thanks to the cock – the circle.