Statues - Hither & Thither

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Stratford-upon-Avon
Warwickshire
West Midlands

Sheep Street
(Town Hall)

William Shakespeare

Stratford-upon-Avon 1564 - id. 1616
English poet and playwright
(Wikipedia)

John Cheere & Peter Scheemakers (Jr.)
1769

Stratford-upon-Avon / William Shakespeare

Description

Leaden statue of Shakespeare, holding scrolls which are balanced on a pillar at the bottom of which is a head. The head has a crown on it. Shakespeare is pointing down at the scroll and the head with is right hand. He is dressed in an attempt at Elizabethan costume, but the trousers and shoes are more eighteenth century in style. Around the base of the pedestal are small busts of Henry V, Richard III and Queen Elizabeth. Upon a scroll are inscribed lines from a Midsummer's Night's Dream: 'The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, / Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; / And as imagination bodies forth / The form of things unknown, the poet's pen / Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing / A local habitation and a name'. (description from PMSA, most if it is unvisible since the statue is high in a niche and covered with a maze).

Inscription(s)

The Corporation
and Inhabitants of Stratford
Assisted by
The minificent Contributions
of the Noblemen
and Gentlemen in the Neighbourhood
Rebuilt this Edifuce in the Year 1768

The Statue of Shakespear
and his Picture within
were given by David Garrick Esq.

Annotation

The leaden statue was sculpted by Peter Scheemaker and John Cheere produced the lead cast with the finished statue unveiled in 1769.

Sculptors

John Cheere (London 1709 - 1787), English sculptor, particularly well-known for his lead statues (Wikipedia).
Peter Scheemakers or Pieter Scheemaeckers II or the Younger (Antwerpen 1691 - Antwerpen 1781), Flemish-English sculptor (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Cotswolds.info, Sculptures in Stratford upon Avon.
Wikipedia, Memorials to William Shakespeare.
Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, National Recording Project Database.

Locatie (N 52°11'29" - W 1°42'25") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: gbwm077; Photograph: 25 June 2014
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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