Katharina Fritsch's Madonnenfigur/Madonna Figure (1987/2024) is a life-sized sculpture inspired by a small souvenir statue she bought in a pilgrimage town. In this work, she explores the intersection between private religious rituals and the commercialization of religious symbols. Fritsch views mass-produced Christian souvenirs as a symbol of the tension between faith and commercialization—a meeting point of church and shop window, belief and marketing. This idea became especially striking when the artwork was installed in the public space of Trondheim in the summer of 2024, placed between the Church of Our Lady and the busy shopping street Nordre Gate.

The sculpture was first presented at Skulptur Projekte Münster in 1987, where the large, brightly coloured statue of a praying Virgin Mary was placed in the heart of the city's shopping district, between a department store and a church. With its striking yellow hue, the sculpture caught the attention of passers-by, and reactions were mixed. Some treated it with respect, while others vandalized it or tried to steal it. Over the course of the six-month exhibition, the figure was damaged several times and had to be repaired. This highlights the strong impact the work had on the public, challenging their feelings and attitudes toward religious symbols.