Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington as “Achilles”
Wellington Monument by Richard Westmacott, 1822
South-western end of Park Lane, Mayfair
London, October 2009
“The cost of £10,000 was donated by British women. The bronze came from cannons captured in military campaigns by the Duke of Wellington at Salamanca, Vittoria, Toulouse and Waterloo. This was London’s first public nude statue since antiquity and despite its fig leaf it was still controversial. The entrance gates to Hyde Park were too low to get it through and a hole had to be knocked in the adjoining wall.” (Monuments in Hyde Park, The Royal Parks)
I'm tired this morning and I'm thinking of beef Wellington rather than admiring the bronze of Waterloo... And I'm thinking that thankfully we will never see modern day politicians and military sculpted in a Greek revival fashion...
ReplyDeleteShiny. A lot different from Leon Blum. But I totally agree with Ciel.
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