Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Anteros

Anteros by Alfred Gilbert, Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, Piccadilly Circus, City of Westminster, London

“Anteros” by Alfred Gilbert, Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, 1893
Piccadilly Circus
London, September 2014

“Although the statue is generally known as Eros, it was created as an image of his twin brother, Anteros. The sculptor Alfred Gilbert had already sculpted a statue of Anteros and, when commissioned for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, chose to reproduce the same subject, who, as ‘The God of Selfless Love’ was deemed to represent the philanthropic 7th Earl of Shaftesbury suitably. Gilbert described Anteros as portraying ‘reflective and mature love, as opposed to Eros or Cupid, the frivolous tyrant.’ The model for the sculpture was Gilbert's studio assistant, a 16-year-old Italian, Angelo Colarossi (born 1875).” (Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, Wikipedia)

See also: Queen Alexandra Memorial

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