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Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain
Fuente Eros, Piccadilly Circus, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-11, DD 159.JPG
The fountain in 2014
Artist Sir Alfred Gilbert
Year 1885–93
Type Fountain, sculpture
Medium Aluminium, bronze
Dimensions 1097 cm × 518 cm (432 in × 204 in)
Location Piccadilly Circus, London, W1
Coordinates 51°30′35″N 0°08′04″W / 51.50984°N 0.13449°W / 51.50984; -0.13449Coordinates: 51°30′35″N 0°08′04″W / 51.50984°N 0.13449°W / 51.50984; -0.13449

The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain is located at the southeastern side of Piccadilly Circus in London, United Kingdom. Moved after World War II from its original position in the centre, it was erected in 1892–1893 to commemorate the philanthropic works of Lord Shaftesbury, who was a famous Victorian politician and philanthropist.

The monument is surmounted by Alfred Gilbert's winged nude statue generally, though mistakenly, known as Eros. This has been called "London's most famous work of sculpture"; a graphical illustration of it is used as the symbol of the Evening Standard newspaper and appears on its masthead. It was the first sculpture in the world to be cast in aluminium and is set on a bronze fountain, which itself inspired the marine motifs that Gilbert carved on the statue.

The use of a nude figure on a public monument was controversial at the time of its construction, but it was generally well received by the public. The Magazine of Art described it as "...a striking contrast to the dull ugliness of the generality of our street sculpture, ... a work which, while beautifying one of our hitherto desolate open spaces, should do much towards the elevation of public taste in the direction of decorative sculpture, and serve freedom for the metropolis from any further additions of the old order of monumental monstrosities."

Although the statue is generally known as Eros, it was created as an image of his brother, Anteros. The sculptor Alfred Gilbert had already sculpted a statue of Anteros and, when commissioned for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, chose to reproduce the same subject, who, as "The God of Selfless Love" was deemed to represent the philanthropic 7th Earl of Shaftesbury suitably. Gilbert described Anteros as portraying "reflective and mature love, as opposed to Eros or Cupid, the frivolous tyrant." The model for the sculpture was Gilbert's studio assistant, a 16-year-old Anglo-Italian, Angelo Colarossi (born 1875 in Shepherd's Bush). Fernando Meacci was involved in the moulding of the fountain and it was probably cast by George Broad & Son.


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