Frederick William IV of Prussia

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An equestrian statue of Frederick William IV of Prussia by Alexander Calandrelli, 1886
Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)
Museumsinsel (Museum Island)
Berlin, September 2011

See also: Alte Nationalgalerie

Aldgate Pump

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Detail of the wolf head on the Aldgate Pump
Aldgate High Street / Fenchurch Street
Leadenhall Street, City of London
London, October 2009

“Served by one of London's many underground streams, people began to complain about the ‘funny’ taste of the water. Upon investigation, this was found to be caused by the leaching of calcium from the bones of the dead in many new cemeteries in north London through which the stream ran. In 1876, the New River Company changed the supplies to mains water. The wolf head on the pump is supposed to signify the last wolf shot in the City of London.” (Aldgate Pump, Wikipedia)

Le Botteleur

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Le Botteleur (The hay-trusser) by Jacques Perrin, 1888
Square Maurice-Gardette
Quartier Saint-Ambroise, 11th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

(Thanks to cieldequimper for the translation of the title)

“In days of yore before mechanical balers were designed hay was stored not in stacks of compressed bales but loose in traditional haystacks. The hay became compressed by its own weight during storage and the workers feet as they purposely stamped it down to consolidate the stack as they built it. When the stack was opened for use the hay was cut out with long spade like hay knives into blocks or trusses, of a particular weight and originally tied up - 'trussed' with twisted hay ropes hand made at the time for transport and distribution.” (What's a Hay Trusser, Stephen John Edwards)

Police Boat

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Police boat
Canale di Cannaregio, Cannaregio
Venice, October 2012

“Be aware of petty crime like pickpocketing on the crowded vaporetti, particularly the tourist routes, where passengers are more intent on the passing scenery than on watching their bags. Venice's deserted back streets were once virtually crime-proof; occasional tales of theft are circulating only recently. Generally speaking, it's one of Italy's safest cities.” (Crime, Frommer's Venice)

Alex Oase

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Outdoor seating, Alex Oase
Alexanderplatz
Berlin, September 2011

Rhinoceros

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Rhinoceros on a panel of the bronze west doors
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
Piazza dei Miracoli
Pisa, January 2013

(dedicated to tapirgal)

“Nuremberg, where Dürer lived, was a great commercial centre and home to the earliest printing shops and publishers. By 1515, when he made this print, Dürer himself was the master printmaker of the age, and so he was ideally placed to convert his rhino into a highly profitable print. Using wood-block allowed him to print around four to five thousand copies of this image during his lifetime, and nobody knows how many millions have sold in other forms since. This image stuck. In works of natural history, above all, Dürer's rhino turned out to be unshiftable, even when more accurate depictions of the animal were available. In the seventeenth century, copies of this print could be seen on the doors of Pisa Cathedral and in a church fresco in Colombia in South America. It's appeared on ceramics everywhere from Meissen to Liverpool, and it's now a popular T-shirt and a fridge magnet.” (Dürer's Rhinoceros, A History of the World, BBC)

See also: Piazza dei Miracoli - Leaning Tower - Santa Maria Assunta - Cathedral's Pulpit - Battistero di San Giovanni - La Fontana dei Putti

The Telescope

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A shiny telescope on the Arc de Triomphe (Triumphal Arch)
Arc de Triomphe
Place Charles-de-Gaulle
Quartier du Faubourg-du-Roule, 8th arrondissement
Paris, July 2011

Il Gobbo di Rialto

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Il Gobbo di Rialto (The Hunchback of Rialto) by Pietro da Salò
Campo San Giacomo, San Polo
Venice, September 2012

“There is a statue known as the ‘Gobbo di Rialto’ (Hunchback of Rialto) at the edge of Campo San Giacomo, the square with the church. In the 16th Century it was customary for perpetrators of minor crimes to be forced to run between people with sticks from St. Mark's Square to Campo San Giacomo: the view of the Hunchback was a great relief for them, as it marked the end and goal of this perhaps cruel, but certainly effective punishment.” (Venice ant its Lagoon, World Heritage)

See also: San Giacomo di Rialto

Albrecht von Graefe

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Memorial to Albrecht von Graefe by Rudolf Siemering, 1882
Schumannstraße / Luisenstraße
Berlin, September 2011

“This theatrical monument to the memory of great German ophthalmologist Albrecht von Graefe can be admired on the Charité-Medical University terrain (in Berlin), at the corner between Schumann- and Luisenstrasse. The initiative for the monument came in 1872, two years after von Graefe's death, and was supported by physicians and ophthalmologists of several countries. Also Rudolf Virchow was involved in the committee. The inauguration of the Graefe-monument, masterpiece of the sculptor Rudolf Siemering, took place in 1882. In the monument, von Graefe keeps in his right hand an ophthalmoscope, as a memory of the fact that he ‘was among the first ophthalomologists who regularly used the ophthalmoscope of Hermann von Helmholtz for the diagnosis of the fundus oculi when going on their ward rounds’.” (Albrecht von Graefe monument at the ‘Charité’, History of Medicine Topographical Database)

St Helen's Bishopsgate

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St Helen's Bishopsgate
Great St Helen's, City of London
London, October 2009

“St. Helen's was one of only a few City churches to survive both the Great Fire of London of 1666 and the Blitz during World War II. In 1992 and 1993, however, the church was badly damaged by two IRA bombs that were set off nearby. The roof of the building was lifted and one of the City's largest medieval stained glass windows was shattered. The church has since been fully restored although many of the older monuments within it were entirely destroyed. Architect Quinlan Terry, an enthusiast of Georgian architecture, designed the restoration along Reformation lines.” (St Helen's Bishopsgate, Wikipedia)

Le temps des cerises

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“Le temps des cerises” (The Time of Cherries) restaurant
Rue de la Cerisaie, Le Marais
Quartier de l'Arsenal, 4th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“Le temps des cerises is a song written in France in 1866, with words by Jean-Baptiste Clément and music by Antoine Renard. The song is strongly associated with the Paris Commune. It is believed to be dedicated by the writer to a nurse who was killed in the Semaine Sanglante (Bloody Week) when French government troops overthrew the commune.” (Le temps des cerises, Wikipedia)

Le temps des cerises Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises Et gai rossignol et merle moqueur Seront tous en fête Les belles auront la folie en tête Et les amoureux du soleil au cœur Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises Sifflera bien mieux le merle moqueur Mais il est bien court le temps des cerises Où l'on s'en va deux cueillir en rêvant Des pendants d'oreille... Cerises d'amour aux robes pareilles Tombant sous la feuille en gouttes de sang... Mais il est bien court le temps des cerises Pendants de corail qu'on cueille en rêvant! Quand vous en serez au temps des cerises Si vous avez peur des chagrins d'amour Évitez les belles! Moi qui ne crains pas les peines cruelles Je ne vivrai pas sans souffrir un jour... Quand vous en serez au temps des cerises Vous aurez aussi des chagrins (peines) d'amour! J'aimerai toujours le temps des cerises C'est de ce temps-là que je garde au cœur Une plaie ouverte! Et Dame Fortune, en m'étant offerte Ne pourra jamais calmer(fermer) ma douleur... J'aimerai toujours le temps des cerises Et le souvenir que je garde au cœur!

The Time of Cherries When we will sing the time of cherries And gay nightingale, and mocking blackbird Will all be celebrating! The beauties will have folly in the head And lovers have sun in the heart. When we will sing the time of cherries, He will better whistle, the mocking blackbird. But it is rather short, the time of cherries, When we go together dreamily picking Pendant earrings, Cherries of love, similar to the robes, Falling under the leaves like drops of blood. But it is rather short, the time of cherries, Coral earrings we pick in a dream. When we will be in the time of cherries, If you are afraid of love's sorrows, Avoid the beauties! Me, who do not fear cruel pains, I will not live without suffering one day. When you will be in the time of cherries, You too will know love's sorrows. I will always love the time of cherries ! It is from this time that I have to the heart An open wound. And Dame Fortune, being offered to me, Will never know how to calm my suffering. I will always love the time of cherries And the memory I keep in my heart.

(Jean-Baptiste Clément, 1866 - English translation from Musescore.com)

Marforio's Sign

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The sign of the former Marforio leather shop
Marzarieta Due Aprile / Marzaria San Salvador, San Marco
Venice, September 2012

“The dragon was designed only about a century ago as a signpost for a leather goods store called Marforio, which was the largest and oldest leather goods store in Italy, run by the same family through five generations since 1875, until it closed about 10 years ago. I could not find any information directly connecting the dragon to Marforio, but the fact that Marforio was in the building on which the dragon still stands and that it initially opened as an umbrella store sort of makes that connection for me; the leather suitcases, handbags, wallets, belts, and other travelers' merchandise became more central probably after the store's success as an umbrella boutique and possibly after the creation of the dragon, but I have no evidence on which to base that theory. No matter my lack of knowledge about the Marforio dragon itself, though, this detail can say more to us than we might expect.” (Venice in the Details: The Marforio Dragon, Audrey Jenkins)

Berlin Firefighter Challenge

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Victim rescue, Berlin Firefighter Challenge
Potsdamer Platz
Berlin, September 2011

“A 175-lb. (79.4kg) Simulaids, Inc., Rescue Randy® mannequin must be dragged backwards a distance of 100-ft (30.5m). Carrying the dummy is not permitted. If any competitor crosses the course delineator (i.e., goes out of lane), a 5-second penalty will be assessed. Any contact with the opposing competitor will result in disqualification. The mannequin must not be grasped by its clothing or appendages. Time stops when the competitor and victim completely cross the finish line. The Course Marshal, at his sole discretion, may stop any competitor who in the official's opinion creates or is in a dangerous or unsafe condition.” (Berlin Firefighter Challenge, pdf file)

See also: Bagpipe Players

America, The Four Continents

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America, The Four Continents by Daniel Chester French, 1903-1907
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
Bowling Green
Financial District, Lower Manhattan
New York, September 2008

“The sculpture of America is to the right of Asia. It is the only one of the four in which there is action in the position of the central figure. America is represented as a young, alert woman, sitting at the edge of her chair as if ready to spring forward if need be. She holds a torch in one hand, and a bushel of corn is on her lap. Her right foot, extended forward, leans on the head of an image of the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl [5]. Visible in the background over her right shoulder is a Native American man wearing a warrior's headdress. Another man, mostly nude, kneels at her side, in the protection of her arm and flowing cape. He holds tools in one hand, and with the other tends a small, winged wheel.”

(The Four Continents, New York City Public Art Curriculum)

See also: Asia - Europe - Africa (The Four Continents)

Freddy Krueger

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Statue of Guillaume Dupuytren dressed as Freddy Krueger
Courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu
Parvis Notre-Dame
Quartier Notre-Dame, 4th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“His statue stands in the Hotel Dieu Paris and is the target for colourful facelifts and regular painting from the medical students during rag week.” (Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, Surgeons Net)

See also: Guillaume Dupuytren - Hôtel-Dieu - Play Me, I’m Yours

San Giacomo di Rialto

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Church of San Giacomo di Rialto
Campo San Giacomo, San Polo
Venice, September 2012

“San Giacomo di Rialto, also known as San Giacometto, is believed to be the oldest church in Venice. With its typical cross plan, it was first built in 421, the year the city was founded according to tradition. The church we see today is the result of restoration work in 1601. The huge clock (1410) and the outstanding atrium with its Gothic portico are the two most distinctive features of this church. Money-changers and bankers used to sit under the portico, waiting for foreign currency or customers wishing to borrow. All banking transactions were conducted outdoors at the time, under the careful eye of the authorities. The concept of ‘exchange’ was born right here.” (Venice and its Lagoons, World Heritage)

See also: Il Gobbo di Rialto

Löwe

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“Löwe” (Lion) by August Gaul, 1904
Kolonnadenhof
Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)
Bodestraße
Museumsinsel Berlin (Museum Island)
Berlin, September 2011

See also: Tiergruppe - Two Penguins

The Observers

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“The Observers”, The Battle of Britain Monument, First Panel - Fighter Command
Paul Day sculptor, Donald Insall Associates architects
Victoria Embankment
London, October 2009

“Scattered around the coast and inland, the 30,000 strong Observer Corps ceaselessly scoured the air to intercept, visually and orally, enemy raiders. After RDF (Radio Direction Finder), they were the next line of defence and crucial for the relaying of information back to Uxbridge.” (Description of monument scenes by the sculptor, Battle of Britain Monument)

See also: Scramble

The Fox

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Detail of the fox, “Hommage à Jean de La Fontaine” by Charles Correia, 1983
Le Corbeau et le Renard (The Raven and the Fox)
Jardin du Ranelagh
Quartier de la Muette, 16th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

Le Corbeau et le Renard Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché, Tenait en son bec un fromage. Maître Renard, par l'odeur alléché, Lui tint à peu près ce langage: «Hé! bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau. Que vous êtes joli ! que vous me semblez beau! Sans mentir, si votre ramage Se rapporte à votre plumage, Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois.»

The Raven and the Fox Perched on a lofty oak, Sir Raven held a lunch of cheese; Sir Fox, who smelt it in the breeze, Thus to the holder spoke: «Ha! how do you do, Sir Raven? Well, your coat, sir, is a brave one! So black and glossy, on my word, sir, With voice to match, you were a bird, sir, Well fit to be the Phoenix of these days.»

(Read more)

See also: Jean de La Fontaine - The Raven

Polyptych of Saint Vincent Ferrer

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Polyptych of Saint Vincent Ferrer by Giovanni Bellini, 1470s
Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo (San Zanipolo)
Campo S.S. Giovanni e Paolo
Venice, September 2012

“Keith Christiansen labelled it perverse to attribute this crucial work of the Venetian Renaissance to anyone other than Giovanni Bellini, with the exception of the predella, for which Bellini had perhaps supplied the design. For Christiansen, the polyptych of St Vincent Ferrer represented the sum of BeIlini's strivings towards artistic maturity during the 1460s, under the influenee of Mantegna. He demonstrated a new mastery in the two enormous figures of Christopher and Sebastian in particular, and in the heads, turned upwards and illuminated from below, he took up the challenge represented by Mantegna's depiction of Assumption of the Virgin in the Ovetari chapel in Padua. St Vincent Ferrer, who stands on a bank of clouds and is surrounded by cheruhs, now black through oxidization, is Bellini's first contribution to the rendering of a saint in glory.” (Oskar Bätschmann, Giovanni Bellini)

Humboldt Box

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Humboldt Box
Schloßplatz (Palace Square)
September 2011, Berlin

“If you're visiting Berlin this summer, you'll notice an unusual addition to the city's Mitte district -- the Humboldt Box, a futuristic museum housing exhibits related to art, science and culture. This geometric structure opened last week near Museum Island. The Humboldt Box serves as a interim fill-in for the Humboldt Forum, envisioned as a place for the exchange of cultures from around the world. The temporary structure will be dismantled when the Humboldt Forum is completed, probably in 2019.” (Offbeat Traveler: Humboldt Box in Berlin, Los Angeles Times)

Golda Meir

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Bust of Golda Meir by Beatrice Goldfine
Golda Meir Square
Broadway and West 39th Street
New York, September 2007

The statue was dedicated on Oct. 3, 1984, which happened to be a busy day for civic dedications in New York. About half an hour before an official commemoration at the corner of 49th Street honoring the former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, the then-Manhattan borough president Andrew J. Stein filled in for Mayor Ed Koch, who was in Washington that day, at the dedication of Golda’s statue. Stein’s uninspired remarks, as summarized by a report in The New York Times the next day, offered an unassailable, if not unimaginative, justification for Meir’s immortalization: “Of all the Israeli leaders,” Stein said helpfully, “she was the leader Americans knew best.” (Golda Meir, New York City Statues)

Play Me, I’m Yours

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‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ street piano with the occasional player
Courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu
Parvis Notre-Dame
Quartier Notre-Dame, 4th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

“Touring internationally since 2008, ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ is an artwork by British artist Luke Jerram. Reaching over two million people worldwide – more than 700 pianos have already been installed in 34 cities across the globe, from New York to China, bearing the simple instruction ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’.” (Play Me, I’m Yours, Street Pianos)

See also: Hôtel-Dieu

Ponte della Costituzione

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Ponte della Costituzione (Constitution Bridge) by Santiago Calatrava, 2007
Canal Grande (Grand Canal)
Venice, September 2012

“Tourists crossing a new bridge built across Venice's Grand Canal have stumbled across a possible flaw, which has landed 10 of them in casualty with twisted ankles and other minor injuries. The 10 tourists were treated after taking a tumble on the 94-metre long Constitution Bridge, designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, which opened on September 11. Pedestrians who lost their footing have blamed the bridge's irregularly spaced steps, some of which act as viewing points, and the disorienting optical effect of the sectioned stone and glass flooring.” (Bridge trips tourists, The Guardian)

Die Welt Balloon

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HiFlyer or Die Welt (The World) balloon
Wilhelmstraße and Zimmerstraße
Berlin, September 2011

“Right in the center of Berlin our giant balloon rises above Checkpoint Charlie, the Axel-Springer-Building, Sony Center and the Brandenburger Tor, thus offering not only a perfect outlook on historic Berlin, but also intriguingly presenting the new heart of Europe.” (Captive Balloon HiFlyer, Air Service Berlin)

St Thomas' Hospital Tower

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Tower, St Thomas' Hospital, 1865
Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth
London, October 2009

The Raven

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Detail of the raven, “Hommage à Jean de La Fontaine” by Charles Correia, 1983
Le Corbeau et le Renard (The Raven and the Fox)
Jardin du Ranelagh
Quartier de la Muette, 16th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012

Le Corbeau et le Renard Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché, Tenait en son bec un fromage...

The Raven and the Fox Perched on a lofty oak, Sir Raven held a lunch of cheese...

(Read more)

See also: Jean de La Fontaine - The Fox

Lion on the Gate

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“Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus” (May Peace be with you, Mark, my evangelist)
Winged Lion of Saint Mark by Antonio Gai, 1735-37
Gate of the Loggetta, Piazza San Marco
Venice, October 2012

Schiller-Denkmal

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Schiller-Denkmal (Monument to Friedrich Schiller) by Reinhold Begas, 1859
Gendarmenmarkt
Berlin, September 2011

“The memorial to Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805), one of Germany’s most revered poets and playwrights (Maria Stuart, William Tell) sits dignified in the middle of Gendarmenmarkt. Crafted by Reinhold Begas in 1871, it was squirreled away by the Nazis and ended up in West Berlin after WWII. In 1988 it returned across the Wall following an exchange of artworks between the two German states.” (Lonely Planet, Berlin)

See also: Organ-grinder - Französischer Dom - Deutscher Dom - Café Achteck

Asia, The Four Continents

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Asia, The Four Continents by Daniel Chester French, 1903-1907
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
Bowling Green
Financial District, Lower Manhattan
New York, September 2008

“When viewed from left to right, the first sculpture of the set is Asia. The central figure of this group is a calm woman, seated with eyes closed, her hands resting on her knees. On her lap there sits a small Buddha, and in one hand she holds a lotus flower, with a serpent wrapped around the stem. The bare feet of the central figure rest on a platform held up by a series of skulls. She is dressed in draping robes, and wears numerous necklaces. To her right is a tiger, sitting with its back to the viewer and its head turned, gazing up at the central figure. To her left are three additional figures: a boy kneeling, with his head down in prayer; an emaciated old man with his hands tied behind his back in slavery; a woman with a baby strapped to her back. The man and the woman stand bent over, leaning against the central figure for support.” (The Four Continents, New York City Public Art Curriculum)

See also: America - Europe - Africa (The Four Continents)

Fromagerie Vacroux

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Detail of the sign, Fromagerie Vacroux et Fils
(Vacroux & Sons Cheese and Dairy Shop)
Rue Daguerre
Quartier du Petit-Montrouge, 14th arrondissement
Paris, July 2012