Dead Hero On Horseback

[poliphilo]

 So, we now know why the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square hasn't been permanently occupied yet; it has been earmarked (by whatever unelected clique really rules this island) for an equestrian statue of the present queen- to be erected after her death.

That is to say, for something of no artistic worth whatsoever, which future generations will ignore- just as we ignore the memorial statues on all the other plinths.

Because it's almost inconceivable that a real artist would be handed a commission like this, isn't it?

Or would want to undertake it. 

It's not just that public expectations will restrict the artist to the bland and generic- though it's that too- it's also that the genre "dead hero on horseback" is completely moribund. For all the implicit drama, there's surprisingly little you can do with it. A horse is a horse is a horse- and there's not much variation you can work in the rider's pose either: the legs can only go so, the back must be straight, at least one arm must be holding the reins. 

The problem was solved- back in the 1480s- by Andrea Del Verrocchio.  His Colleoni monument (I'd post a picture, but I can't find a decent one online) is the genre's definitive masterpiece. Everything since restates or copies Verrochio- and suffers by comparison.

Comments

[nostoi.livejournal.com]

The finishing touch of a traffic cone will be somewhat amusing at least.

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

How interesting!

I was struck when going into Westminster Abbey by the sheer tonnage of stray marble, all crammed in like a junk yard, commemorating dukes, soldiers and statesmen long forgotten. Prime Minister Canning, for example, who I only ever heard of because my mother was born and raised in a Canning Street (long since demolished).

So few of us gain immortality! Eat your heart out, Ozymandias, you have competition!

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

Even our town of 1000 people decided on a sculpture that would symbolize everything we stand for.

The grant money was given to a local woman who worked in secret at first, then allowed people in to help a little, then worked in secret again.

Finally the huge piece was covered and hauled to the front of the library, where it was set in the middle of a prepared iris bed.

When the cover was taken off, the piece looked exactly like a huge blue tuba.

People like to set empty Coke cans in the tuba's top.

[amritarosa.livejournal.com]

Oh, if only that commission were given to someone really daring and technically skilled....could be really very interesting. But it probably won't be.

[oakmouse]

*I* think they ought to do a statue like the one Trollope describes in Barchester Towers --- a lady reclining on a couch, beneath a fancy lace veil, with Death creeping out from under the couch and poking her with a toasting fork. At least the artist would enjoy making it.

[algabal.livejournal.com]

I kind of like the idea of statues commemorating mediocre figures. I mean, how else are we going to remember them? They should erect one to poet laureate Alfred Austin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Austin). He's taken a lot of flack in the last 70 years.