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Uta, the woman who captivated Günter Grass, the Literature Nobel Prize winner

  • A typewriter similar to the mid 20th century models.

Ten years after the death of the writer Gûnter Grass, his last work, posthumous and hitherto unpublished, is published.

The novel The Statue was discovered in a dusty drawer by his collaborator Hilke Ohsoling.

The text is a fascinating autofictional allegory that addresses themes such as old age and art. Grass puts into practice his literary maxim: “On paper everything is possible.”

The story tells the story of a writer who, captivated by beauty and mystery, follows the trail of the living sculpture of Uta of Naumburg or Ballenstedt. She is a woman believed to have been born around the year 1000, a noblewoman belonging to the House of Ascania, one of the leading families of medieval Saxony, and who is considered the most beautiful woman of the 13th century.

Grass first visited the twelve statues in Naumburg Cathedral in the late 1980s. The beauty and expressiveness of these figures, the work of an anonymous master, caught his attention. However, because of his sensitivity as a sculptor and painter, it was one in particular that struck him: the statue of Uta, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

«We were finally in front of the couple. The person who was leading us smiled, as if he were indulging our impatience. Ekkehard and Uta. She is, as she has always been, on his left, and her face is half hidden by the cloak, raised on the right side. And, as her gaze has a rather hostile quality, one can interpret that protective collar as an attitude towards her husband». (The Statue, p. 21)

In this book, Grass resorts to the traditional artifice of the stone guest by inviting the daughter of a goldsmith who served as a model for the statue to dinner in his garden. In a leap in time, Uta continues to appear in different cities during the travels of the enamored narrator, who searches for her everywhere, and turns his subsequent tours into a real disaster.

La estatua, by Günter Grass, book cover.

The edition features the author's drawings, which gives it an intimate tone, as if it were a secret diary. It is a literary obsession and a love that has so far been unconfessed. Through this text, readers will learn more about Grass's personality and his search for a refuge from time: “Since my youth I had wanted to go down the stairs, to become unfindable in an ever different time. Neither the narrowness of my two-bedroom home, nor the subsequent life in fields and barracks, nor the hubbub of children, no sound prevented me from escaping the present of each moment. And it was not long before I found myself in other company. I invited and they came. On paper many things became possible.” (The Statue, p. 16)

The work of the Nobel Prize winner for Literature and the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature includes poems, dramas and, above all, novels. The Tin Drum (Alfaguara, 2009), one of the pinnacles of contemporary European literature, together with Dog Years (Alfaguara, 2013) and Cat and Mouse (Alfaguara, 1999) make up the famous “Danzig Trilogy”.

  • UTA’s sculpture is one of the most notable of European Gothic for its realism, expressiveness and for being one of the greatest representations of the canon of medieval beauty. It can be seen in the Naumburg Cathedral.
  • When asked which woman from the history of art he would like to have dinner with, Umberto Eco answered without hesitation: “Uta of Naumburg”.
  • The figure of Uta inspired Walt Disney to create Snow White’s stepmother.
  • Today, UTA continues to be represented on German postage stamps.