Followers

Friday, November 12, 2021

Derriere


That huge sword would have been big even in Medieval times, never mind that a knight would 
never be depicted nude.  The haircut borders on Prince Valiant, and this work perplexes me.

 

5 comments:

  1. Do you have any idea where this statue is?

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Machinegun Corps Memorial by Francis Derwent Wood, R.A. (1871-1926). Bronze. 1925. Hyde Park Corner, London.
    The inscription on the front of the monument has the Biblical quote "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." I suppose the statue represents the young shepherd boy David who killed the giant Goliath and chopped off his head with Goliath's own sword.

    I am not sure why that would be a suitable memorial to the men of the Machinegun Corps who died in WWI, but there it is.

    -Tom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tom. I share your uncertainty as to how suitable it is. I've been to Hyde Park Corner multiple times, but apparently don't remember it. The 1925 World War I Memorial at my alma mater, the University of Texas, has naked soldiers and sailors with huge swords, too, so maybe it's a 1920s motif of some sort.

      Delete
    2. I'll take a look at this "In the flesh".

      Delete