Statue of the week
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Ile Rousseau, Geneva
Les Genevoises never were particularly keen on their local philosopher during his lifetime, despite naming the smaller island on the Rhône after him. It was not until 1835 that another local boy, Ingres-influenced sculptor James Pradier, was commissioned to produce a statue. And then, some time in 2009, they allowed the Université de Genève to bung up a lurid purple dome right in front of Pradier’s work for their exhibition celebrating the human genome. Having deprived the philosopher his customary view of the river, some bright spark decided to give him a mirror so at least visitors could see what he looks like. And a little thought-bubble: Je me suis moi-même posé la question de la magie du vivant (“I too mused on the mystery of life”).
Statue of the Week
MEMORIAL OF THE 1944 WARSAW UPRISING, KRASIŃSKI SQUARE, WARSAW
Krasiński Square was the site of some of the worst fighting during the Warsaw uprising in late summer, 1944. The Polish Home army desperately held the city for 63 days before the Nazis finally overcame them and then razed Warsaw to the ground in retaliation.
Wincenty Kućma’s memorial is a fitting testimony to these events: two groups of bronze figures, one (the insurgents) defending a barricade and the other (the exodus) descending into the sewers. The monument was not unveiled until 1989, when the Soviets were on their way out. The dynamic of the tableau and the attitudes struck by the figures makes an immediate impression on the viewer: without coming across all Keats about it, it’s surprising to find, on a second visit, that the soldiers are still in their same positions.
STATUE OF THE WEEK
Las Meninas, La Rambla, Barcelona
This isn’t really a statue as such, because it’s gone…these bronze ladies-in-waiting, modelled on the Infantas Margarita and Maria Teresa from Velázquez’s famous canvas of the same name, gave one final curtsy and left La Rambla shortly after the picture was taken back in May 2008. Part of an exhibition by US-based Spanish artist Manolo Valdés to bring art to the street, they seem to be making their way slowly around Europe: the most recent sighting of them is in a park in The Hague…
STATUE OF THE WEEK
Perseus holding the head of Medusa (Benvenuto Cellini), Florence
Commissioned in 1554 by Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the founder of the Uffizi and other significant bits of Florence, this bronze masterpiece stands in front of the Loggia dei Lanzi in the Piazza della Signoria. Allegedly intended as a threat to the Sienese, but always more likely to offend the feminists, it’s nonetheless remarkable for its depiction of Perseus himself, whose sinewy musculature and vigorous posture, and provocatively angled sword (best appreciated by standing on the right) make this far more dynamic than Canova’s poncey version in the Vatican. Medusa here is indeed reduced to a mere jellyfish.
Les Genevoises never were particularly keen on their local philosopher during his lifetime, despite naming the smaller island on the Rhône after him. It was not until 1835 that another local boy, Ingres-influenced sculptor James Pradier, was commissioned to produce a statue. And then, some time in 2009, they allowed the Université de Genève to bung up a lurid purple dome right in front of Pradier’s work for their exhibition celebrating the human genome. Having deprived the philosopher his customary view of the river, some bright spark decided to give him a mirror so at least visitors could see what he looks like. And a little thought-bubble: Je me suis moi-même posé la question de la magie du vivant (“I too mused on the mystery of life”). 
