| Equestrian statue of George I | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | John Nost  |
| Medium | bronze |
| Designation | Grade II listed building |
| Location | Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°27′00″N1°55′38″W / 52.450072°N 1.92715°W |
The Equestrian statue of George I, by John van Nost the Elder, [1] [2] is a statue that stands outside the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham, England. [2]
The bronze statue was commissioned by the city of Dublin in 1717, [3] as a gesture of loyalty towards George I (who had been King of Great Britain and Ireland since August 1714 [4] ), in the face of support from Irish Catholics for the pretender to his throne, James Stuart. [5] [6]
George is shown wearing contemporary clothing, but with a laurel wreath in the Roman style. [7] The work may have been finished by van Nost's students. [5]
It was displayed on Essex Bridge (now Grattan Bridge) in Dublin from 1722 until some time between 1753 and 1755 when it was removed by George Semple, who was in charge of rebuilding the bridge, in order to prevent erosion caused by the flow of water around the pedestal on which the statue sat. [8] [9]
The statue was re-erected in 1798 in the gardens of the city's Mansion House. [2] It was acquired for the Barber Institute, Birmingham in 1937 (at which time Dublin was the capital of the Irish Free State) by the institute's founding director, Thomas Bodkin, who had arrived there directly from his post as director of the National Gallery of Ireland in 1935. [3]
In July 1982, the statue was granted legal protection as a Grade II listed structure, preventing unauthorised removal or alteration. [10]
The River Liffey is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water and supports a range of recreational activities.
The Custom House is a neoclassical 18th century building in Dublin, Ireland which houses the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is located on the north bank of the River Liffey, on Custom House Quay between Butt Bridge and Talbot Memorial Bridge.
The Ha'penny Bridge, known later for a time as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in May 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Made of cast iron, the bridge was cast in Shropshire, England.
The Wide Streets Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the layout of streets, bridges, buildings and other architectural considerations in Dublin. The commission was abolished by the Dublin Improvement Act of 1849, with the final meeting of the Commission taking place on 2 January 1851.
Grattan Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, and joining Capel Street to Parliament Street and the south quays.
O'Connell Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, which joins O'Connell Street to D'Olier Street, Westmoreland Street and the south quays.
O'Donovan Rossa Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, which joins Winetavern Street to Chancery Place and the north quays.
Mellows Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, Ireland and joining Queen Street and Arran Quay to the south quays.
Father Mathew Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, which joins Merchants Quay to Church Street and the north quays. It occupies the approximate site of the original and for many years the only, Bridge of Dublin, dating back to the 11th century.
The Wellington Monument, or sometimes the Wellington Testimonial, is an obelisk located in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland.
Events from the year 1717 in art.
John Nost was a Flemish sculptor who worked in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
Professor Thomas Patrick Bodkin was an Irish barrister and art collector who became an art historian and curator.
The Dublin quays refers to the two roadways and quays that run along the north and south banks of the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. The stretches of the two continuous streets have several different names. However, all but two of the names share the same "quay" designation. The quays have played an important part in Dublin's history.
Nelson's Pillar was a large granite column capped by a statue of Horatio Nelson, built in the centre of what was then Sackville Street in Dublin, Ireland. Completed in 1809 when Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, it survived until March 1966, when it was severely damaged by explosives planted by Irish republicans. Its remnants were later destroyed by the Irish Army.
George Semple was a notable Irish builder and architect.
John van Nost the younger (1713-1780) was the nephew of the noted Flemish-born British sculptor John van Nost and a noteworthy sculptor in his own right.
Weavers' Hall was a guildhall at 14 The Coombe, Dublin, Ireland, which housed the Guild of Weavers, one of the 25 Guilds of the City of Dublin. The building was constructed in 1745 to a design by architect Joseph Jarratt to replace an earlier nearby weavers' guildhall in the Lower Coombe which was built in 1681–2 and was located in what was originally the Earl of Meath's Liberty. The building was demolished in 1965, with elements including furniture, fireplaces, door surrounds and stone floors sold off as scrap.
The Custom House was a large brick and limestone building located at present-day Wellington Quay in Dublin, Ireland which operated as a custom house, hosting officials overseeing the functions associated with the import and export of goods to Dublin from 1707 until 1791. It also served as the headquarters of the Revenue Commissioners, as a meeting place and offices for the Wide Streets Commission and was said to be Dublin's first dedicated office building.
Bronze equestrian statue, following the model of the classical statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The king is however depicted in contemporary clothing, but wears a laurel.
[the bridge] was rebuilt, and in 1722 a statue of George I by John van Nost the Elder was erected on a conjoining pedestal; it can be seen on the right of the image. Alas, the pedestal on which the statue rested altered the flow of the Liffey, causing the river to erode the foundations of the bridge. In the 1750s the statue was removed and the bridge was rebuilt under the direction of George Semple.
