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Statue of William Shakespeare, Leicester Square

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William Shakespeare
Map
ArtistGiovanni Fontana after Peter Scheemakers
Year1874
MediumMarble
LocationLeicester Square, London W1
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameWilliam Shakespeare Statue and fountain with busts of Hogarth, Hunter, Newton and Reynolds in garden of square
Designated24 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

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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]

  • The original memorial in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey
    The original memorial in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey
  • Full view of the fountain
    Full view of the fountain

References

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  1. ^ a b Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1221890)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 114.
  3. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 112–113.
  4. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 113.
  5. ^ "Shakespeare's statue in Leicester Square restored". BBC. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  6. ^ "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

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  • Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011). Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1. Public Sculpture of Britain. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.
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