Top 15 Famous Statues of the World

Sculpture have been a way to communicate through eternal and everlasting language of art from the prehistoric times to the end of the world. It is the stream through which ideas, emotions and philosophy travel through various eras, quenching the thirst of those who wants to be connected to the era past and the world beyond. Here is a drop of that stream as a list of 15 most famous statues of the world ;

1.  The Statue of liberty (liberty enlightning the world), USA:

   

   The Statue of Liberty at the Liberty Island, New York, USA.

   Designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor and built by Gustave Eiffel; The Statue of Liberty, is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York City, USA. The statue was inaugurated on October 28, 1886, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence and was a joint effort between France(build the statue) and America(build the pedestal). It is a 151ft statue of a robed female figure representing ‘Libertus’, the Roman Goddess, who bears a torch and tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law). A broken chain lies at her feet, as a symbol of freedom and is a welcoming sight for all immigrants and visitors arriving from abroad.

2.  Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt : 

   

   The Great sphinx at Giza guarding the Pharoah’s pyramid

   The great sphinx of Giza (Abu al-Haul in Arabic) is a limestone sculpture of a Sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human, in this case head of an Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre. It stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of Nile in Giza, Egypt. It measures 238ft long from paw to tail, 66.3ft high from base to the top and 62.6 feet wide at its rear haunches. It is one of the oldest known monuments of the world and is believed to be built during the reign of Khafre (2558-2532BCE) guarding the front of the Pharoah’s pyramid.

3.  Christ the redeemer, Brazil:

    

   

   Aerial view of Statue of Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor), Corcovado Mountain, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

   Built in 1931, standing 124ft tall and its arms stretched 92fts , Christ the Redeemer (O Christi Redentor) is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue is designed by French sculptor Paul Landrowski and built by a Brazilian Heitor da Silva. The face was created by the Romanian artist Gheorghe Leonida.  It is located at the peak of the 2300ft tall Corcovado mountain in the Tijuaca Forest national Park overlooking the city. Made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, the statue is a symbol of Christanity all over the world and has become a cultural icon of Brazil.

4.   David by Michelangelo, Italy:

   

   ‘David’ at the Academy Gallery, Florence

   A masterpiece of renaissance, created by Michelangelo, ‘DAVID’ is a marble sculpture of a nude man with a muscular physique. It is 17ft tall statue depicting a biblical hero, David. Originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral of Florence, the statue was placed instead in a public square, outside Palazzo della Signoria at the time of its unveiling on 8 September 1504. The doubled life-sized David is depicted patiently waiting for battle with a slingshot in one hand and a stone in the other.   He symbolized the liberty and freedom of the republican ideals threatened by the Medici family.  The statue was later moved to the Galleria dell’Accademia (the Academy Gallery) in Florence, Italy in 1873 and later replaced by a replica.

5. The Thinker:

   

   The Thinker in The Gates of Hell at the Musée Rodin

   A bronze sculpture by Auguste rodin, ‘The Thinker’ it represents philosophy. It portrays a nude male figure sitting on a rock, in a deep thought, with his chin resting on one hand. Based on ‘The Divine Comedy’ by Dante, it was originally named ‘the Poet’ and was commissioned to be placed at a doorway surround called “the Gates of Hell”. There are 28 full sized castings of the figure, that are placed in museums and public places around the world.

6. Little Mermaid, Denmark:

   

   The Little Mermaid sitting on the rocks at Copenhagen

   The little mermaid (den lille havfrue) is a bronze scuplture in Langelinie Promenade, Copenhagen, Denmark. Build by Edvard Eriksen, it depicts a mermaid sitting on a rock by the waterside. It is 4.1ft tall and based on the fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” by a Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The statue was commissioned in by Carl Jacobsen of Carlsberg as a gift to Copenhagen. There are currently 14 copies of the sculpture across the globe, including the ones in US, Brazil, Romania and Spain. The sculpture has been an icon for the city and a major tourist attraction since 1913.

7.  Christ of the Abyss, Italy:

   

   The Christ of The Abyss submerged 17 meters under sea.

   Located at the San Fruttuoso, Italy ; Christ of the Abyss is a submerged bronze statue of Jesus Christ. It was placed at Mediterranean Sea, off San Fruttuoso, between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Riviera, on 22 august 1954. It was sculptured by Guodo Galleti at the initiative of a legendary Italian diver Duilio Gonzatti. It is 2.5mts high and at an approx. depth of 17mts, with arms and head raised skywards as a sign of Christ offering peace. It has two other replicas casts from the same mould at St. George’s, Greneda and at New York, USA.

8. Venus de milo, France:

   

   Venus Di Milo

   Venus de Milo also known as the Aphrodite of Milos is a sculpture depicting the Roman Goddess of love and beauty Venus (Aphrodite to the Greeks). It is a marble statue by the Alexandros of Antioch and was created be tween 130 and 100 BCE. The sculpture is slightly larger than life at 6.8ft high and is at display at the Lovre Museam in Paris, France. It is named after the Greek island of Milos where it was discovered. Part of its hand and the original plinth was lost following the discovery. It was a gift to French king Louis XVIII by the Marquis de Riviere, who gave it to the Louvre for display. The missing arm of the goddess is a subject if intrigue for many historians and are one of the many reasons for its popularity.

9. The Motherland Calls, Russia: 

   

   The Motherland Calls statue in Russia.

   Located in Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Russia; the statue commemorate the Battle of Stalingard. It  was designed by sculptur Yevgeny Vuchetich and Nikolai Nikitin. It is a statue depicting a woman with a raised sword in right hand and left hand raised to call. This hollow sculture is 171ft tall and is the third tallest statue of the world. It is modelled after the a local woman, Valentina Izotova.

10.  Moai, Chile:

    

    Moai stautues at Easter Island

    The Rapa Noi National park , Easter Island, Chile are dotted by mysterious and massive megalithic human figures called Moai. Built in approx 1250-1500 A.D., the Moai structures have overly large heads three-eighth the size of the whole statue. They are also known as the ‘Eastern Island Heads’ and are upto 33ft high. The Moai are carved from the volcano Rano Raraku. They were built to honour important local people who passed away and are made with different characterstics to keep the apperance of the person it represented.

     

11. Pieta, Italy:

    

    Pieta at the St Peter’s Basilica

    The Pieta is a sculture made by Renaissance sculpture Michealangelo. It was commisioned by an French Cardinal Jean de Bilheres as his tomb. Later on it was moved to the first chapel in the St Peter’s Basilica where it is currently housed. The statue depicts the body of Jesus on the lap his mother Mary after the Cruxcification, death and removal from the cross. It is 1.74m in height and 1.95m in width.  It is carved out of a single slab of Carrara marble and is the only work of Michealangelo that he personally signed.

12. The Olmec Colossal Heads, Mexico

    

    Olmec colossal heads.

    The olmec colossal heads are 17 monumental stone heads depicting human heads. They are made of basalt boulders and dates back to 900 BC. They depic men with chubby cheeks, flat nose and crossed eyes. They were first discovered in 19^th century and have a estimated weight of 40 to 50 tons.

13. The Terrace of Lions, Greece:

    

    The terrace of lions at Delos

    Terrace of the lions of Delos is known to be the birthplace of Greek God Apollo and His sister Artemis. It dates back to 600 BC and was dedicated to Apollo by the Naxos. It is named after its location, the island of Delos, Greece. The terrace is a row of 12 stone lions facing east toward the sacred lake of Delos. The lions both guard the sight and inspire a sense of divine powers to travellers.

14. Apollo and Daphne, Italy:

    

    Apollo and Daphne at Galleria Borghese

    Bulit by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, ‘Apollo and Daphne’ is a life-sized Baroque marble sculpture, executed between 1622 and 1625. It was commisioned by Cardinal Borghese of the Catholic Church. It is currently on display at Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy and depicts the futile romance between  Daphne, a nymph and Apollo, the sun God in the story Ovid’s Metamorphosis.

15.  Spring Temple Buddha, China:

    

    Buddha statue at spring temple

    The Spring Temple Buddha is a statue representing Lord Buddha at Lushan County, Henan, China. It is built from 1997- to 2008. At 420ft, it is the tallest sculpture of the world. It derives its name from the Tianrui hot spring its base is of lotus pedestal that stands on two structures the “Diamond Seat” and the “Sumeru Seat”.

Afters hundreds and thousand of years few of those many wonders have survived to tell the bright tales of an era unknown and are a proof of human’s creativity.

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