Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture |
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The statue of Wilde in 2010
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| Artist | Danny Osborne |
| Year | 1997 |
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| Subject | Oscar Wilde |
| Location | Dublin, Ireland |
| 53°20′27″N 6°15′02″W / 53.34080°N 6.25056°W | |
| Dionysus | |
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The Dionysus statue in 2018
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| Subject | Dionysus |
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture is a special group of three statues. You can find them in Merrion Square in Dublin, Ireland. These sculptures honor Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish poet and writer. The statues were first shown to the public in 1997. They were created by an artist named Danny Osborne.
Contents
Creating the Oscar Wilde Sculpture
How the Idea Started
The Guinness Ireland Group asked English sculptor Danny Osborne to make a statue for Oscar Wilde. This was a big project. The statue was officially revealed in 1997. Oscar Wilde's grandson, Merlin Holland, was there for the unveiling.
Amazing Materials Used
The first plan for the statue had a budget of about £20,000. This was later increased to £45,000. The artist decided that using only marble would not be enough. So, he used many different colored stones from three different continents.
- The main body of the statue is made from green nephrite jade. This stone came all the way from British Columbia, Canada.
- Pink thulite from Norway was also used.
- The legs are made of a Norwegian stone called Blue Pearl granite.
- His shoes are black charnockite from India.
- The shoelaces are made of bronze.
- Oscar Wilde's statue also wears a tie. It looks like a Trinity College tie and is made from shiny porcelain.
- He has three rings on his hand. One is his wedding ring. The other two are scarabs, which are like good luck charms. One scarab is for good luck, and the other is for bad luck.
The Sculpture's Design
The statue shows Oscar Wilde relaxing on a large quartz boulder. Danny Osborne himself found this boulder in the Wicklow Mountains. The sculpture also has two tall pillars. These pillars stand on either side of the boulder.
- One pillar has a statue of Wilde's wife, Constance Lloyd, on top.
- The other pillar has a male figure. This figure represents Dionysus, the Greek God of drama and wine.
- Both of these smaller sculptures are made from bronze and granite.
- The pillars also have words carved into them. These words are famous quotes from Oscar Wilde's poems.
- The special thing about these carvings is that they copy the actual handwriting of famous people. These include writers like Seamus Heaney and John B. Keane. Even Michael D. Higgins, who later became the President of Ireland, contributed his handwriting.
Who Posed for the Statues?
Three people who lived near the artist's studio helped him. They posed as models for the three different parts of the sculpture. This helped Danny Osborne make the statues look very real.
Unveiling and Repairs
When the statue was first shown in 1997, it was the very first one to honor Oscar Wilde. He had passed away 97 years before. People really liked the statue. They praised the different materials used and its location. It is placed very close to where Oscar Wilde grew up, at 1 Merrion Square.
In 2010, the porcelain head of the Oscar Wilde statue had a problem. Cracks started to appear on it. So, the porcelain head had to be replaced. A new head was made. This new head was crafted from white jadeite, a very strong and beautiful stone.
