SUPERSCULPTURES Man's Attempt to Immortalize Himself
(Napisao: gosp. Marko Mareliæ - S. Francisco - USA)The building of giant statues has a long and awe-inspiring history, leaving us with a permanent record of man's efforts to immortalize himself or to pay homage to his gods or his country in stone or metal structures.
The Colossus of Rhodes soared 105 feet and stood guard in the harbor of the Greek island of Rhodes. It was justifiably classed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Work on the great bronze statue, by the sculptor Chares, a pupil of Lysippus, was begun in 292 B.C. and this unmistakable landmark and guide to shipping took more than 12 years to complete. But, tragically, its very size turned out to be its downfall. The island of Rhodes was ravaged by an earthquake in 224 B.C. and the huge statue toppled and was smashed to pieces. The massive fragments lay where they had fallen for almost 900 years until, in 672 A.D. when the chunks of bronze were finally sold for scrap and were carted away by the buyers to be melted down.
An Emperor's Vanity
The Romans, too, thought on a large scale and never did anything by halves. Predictably, they were lovers of giant statues, and none more so than the megalomaniac Emperor Nero. He summoned the sculptor Zenodorus, who was then working on a statue of Hermes in Gaul, and ordered him to drop everything and come to Rome to start work on an enormous statue of the Emperor. When it was finished the sculpture measured 106 feet from top to toe. However, Nero's bid to create a permanent reminder of his greatness did not survive his suicide in 68 A.D. - when the statue was promptly dedicated to Apollo, chosen as a personal god by Emperor Augustus.
But even the grand-scale statues built by the Romans and ancients are dwarfed by those created in modern times. The Statue of Liberty - officially entitled "Liberty Enlightening the World" - stands at the entrance to New York harbor, an enduringly impressive first sight of America for the seagoing traveler.
It is by the French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and measures an awesome 305 feet from the base of the pedestal to the tip of the torch's flame. The pedestal is a granite and concrete structure, but the figure itself, which measures 151 feet 1 inch, is made of copper sheets over an iron framework. It was engineered by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who was also the creator of the most famous of all Parisian landmarks - the Eiffel Tower.
Gift of the French
Costing approximately $250,000, the statue was presented to the Americans by the French people to commemorate the birth of the United States and the friendship between the two countries. Dedicated in 1886, the statue incorporates the viewing galleries in the torch and head. However, the torch gallery has been closed for several years. The head can be reached by an elevator that runs inside the body - or if the visitor is particularly energetic, he can walk up the steps.
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But the prize for sheer height goes to the figure "Motherland," which is the tallest statue in the world, and stands on Mamayev Hill outside Volgograd in Russia. It was designed in 1967 by Yevgeny Vuchetich (1908-1974) to commemorate the Battle of Stalingrad. The female figure itself measures 270 feet from its base to the tip of the sword clenched in its right hand.
Just to prove that the rivalry of the two Great Powers extends beyond weaponry and sporting events, the American sculptor, Felix de Weldon decided on an ambitious plan to build a replica of the Colossus of Rhodes - with one big difference. De Weldon's version would stand 308 feet - 203 feet taller than the original version. He died before that plan could be realized.
Faces in Stone
The desire to carve figures in stone is an inherent part of man's nature that originated with the cavemen. But no one has taken this desire to such satisfying and impressive lengths as the American sculptor Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941).
In 1916 Borglum began to carve a gigantic head of Gen. Robert E. Lee on the sheer, 650-foot face of Stone Mountain in Georgia. The work, commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, was intended to include the figures of Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, and a procession of Confederate soldiers. The head of Gen. Lee was unveiled in 1924, but Borglum then had a difference of opinion with the United Daughters of the Confederacy and he quit the project.
The work was taken over by Augustus Lukeman. He worked on it until 1928 but made little progress during this time and actually destroyed the gigantic head.
In the meantime, Borglum had moved on to other undertakings and had begun work on the mammoth project for which he is most famous. Into the craggy rocks of Mount Rushmore, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he carved the heads of four great Presidents of the United States of America - George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt. Each of the massive figures measures 60 feet from the chin to the top of the forehead.
Before the great work was completed, Borglum had patched up his quarrel with the United Daughters of the Confederacy and had agreed to resume his work on the carvings. However, he died before this could be achieved.
> Excerpted from Reader's Digest "Strange Stories, Amazing Facts" copyright 1976, pg 174-175.
Compiled by Marko Marelich
Retired Mechanical Engineer
San Francisco, California USA
Nov, 2007