Statue of William Shakespeare, Leicester Square
| William Shakespeare | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Artist | Giovanni Fontana after Peter Scheemakers |
| Year | 1874 |
| Medium | Marble |
| Location | Leicester Square, London W1 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | William Shakespeare Statue and fountain with busts of Hogarth, Hunter, Newton and Reynolds in garden of square |
| Designated | 24 February 1958 |
| Reference no. | 1221890[1] |
A statue of William Shakespeare, by the sculptor Giovanni Fontana after an original by Peter Scheemakers, has formed the centrepiece of Leicester Square Gardens in London since 1874.
Description and history
[edit]The marble figure, copied from Scheemakers's 18th-century monument to Shakespeare in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey,[2] stands on a pedestal flanked by dolphins at the centre of a fountain. It is the result of improvements to the gardens made by the financier Albert Grant, who bought the Square in 1874 and had it refurbished to a design by James Knowles.[3]
The scroll held by Shakespeare is inscribed with a quotation from Twelfth Night (Act IV, Scene II), THERE IS NO DARKNESS BUT IGNORANCE, where the original in Poets' Corner has a misquoted passage from The Tempest. The Leicester Square statue also differs from its model in omitting portrait reliefs of Henry V, Richard III and Elizabeth I from the plinth on which Shakespeare rests.[2] The inscription on the pedestal in Leicester Square reads:
THIS ENCLOSURE/ WAS PURCHASED, LAID OUT/ AND DECORATED AS A GARDEN/ BY ALBERT GRANT ESQ[UI]RE M.P./ AND/ CONVEYED BY HIM ON THE 2ND JULY 1874/ TO THE/ METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS/ TO BE PRESERVED FOR EVER/ FOR THE FREE USE AND ENJOYMENT/ OF THE PUBLIC[4]
The statue is listed at Grade II.[1] In 2012 it underwent restoration,[5] and the cleaning was completed – by Tom Brown of London Stone Carving Limited – and new water features added in 2014.[6]
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The original memorial in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey -
Full view of the fountain
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References
[edit]- ^ a b Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1221890)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ a b Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 114.
- ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 112–113.
- ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 113.
- ^ "Shakespeare's statue in Leicester Square restored". BBC. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ "Shakespeare Monument In Leicester Square Restored With New Water Features". 3rd Dimension. Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
Bibliography
[edit]- Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011). Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1. Public Sculpture of Britain. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Statue of William Shakespeare at Leicester Square at Wikimedia Commons- Shakespeare statue returned to Leicester Square by Jaymi McCann (17 October 2012), London Evening Standard
- Bard restored to Leicester Square by Matthew Amer, Official London Theatre (2013)
Portraits, sculptures and memorials to William Shakespeare | ||||
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| Portraits |
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| Sculptures |
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| Memorials | ||||
- 19th-century sculptures
- Grade II listed statues in the City of Westminster
- Leicester Square
- Marble sculptures in the United Kingdom
- Memorials to William Shakespeare
- Monuments and memorials in London
- Outdoor sculptures in London
- Sculptures of men in London
- Statues of writers
- Sculptures of dolphins
- Animal sculptures in London