London’s most erotic sculpture?

October 1, 2018 Comments Off

With Literary Footprints 2018 now under way, Anthony Davis describes one of his favourite statues (of Sir Arthur Sullivan) on the route of his walk Riverside Palaces – A Literary and Architectural Treasure Hunt, based on a panorama of London from 1720. You can find dates and booking details on Anthony’s walks page.

You can also check out our great value Literary Footprints season ticket which allows you free access to over 60 London literary-themed walks throughout the month of October for only £49!

The statue commemorating Sir Arthur Sullivan stands in front of the Savoy Hotel, on the embankment and not far from the Savoy Theatre where the operettas written jointly by Sullivan and Sir William Gilbert were first performed.

The statue is, however, rather a surprising one for a decorous English Gentleman of the Victorian era (Sullivan died in 1900). His middle-aged face, finely bewhiskered, stands looking over the heads of passers-by but what doubtless attracts far more attention is the full length and half naked figure of a shapely young woman draped across the plinth.

The lady is in an emotional state which perhaps accounts for her removing her clothes. She leans forward in grief, below Sir Arthur whose gaze is fixed resolutely in front of him and away from her.

It appears that she represents a personification of Music, as a lute, some music and a rather fierce male dramatic mask (possibly representing Pan, the god of music) have been laid down beside her.

Sullivan thought of himself as a serious classical musician although nowadays he is best remembered for the collaboration with Gilbert and ironically, despite the tensions and disagreements of the final years of their collaboration a quote from The Yeoman of the Guard is inscribed (slightly mis-spelt) on one side of the plinth.

Sullivan’s most famous tune is probably the hymn Onward Christian Soldiers, a good marching rhythm for walkers but perhaps a little too religious for comfort in the twenty-first century.

The statue is by Sir William Goscombe John, a Welsh sculptor and exponent of the ‘New Sculpture’ (embracing realism not abstraction). He was also responsible for a statue on Horseguards Parade as well as memorials in Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s. His statue makes an amusing interlude in our hunt for remnants of historic palaces beside the Thames.