Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain

The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, popularly but incorrectly known as "Eros", is a fountain surmounted by a winged statue of Anteros, located at the southeastern side of Piccadilly Circus in London, England. Moved after World War II from its original position in the centre of the circus, it was erected in 1892–93 to commemorate the philanthropic works of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, who was a famous Victorian politician and philanthropist, and his achievement in replacing child labour with school education. The fountain overlooks the south-west end of Shaftesbury Avenue, also named for the Earl.

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain
The fountain in 2014
ArtistSir Alfred Gilbert
Year1885–1893
TypeFountain, sculpture
MediumAluminium, bronze
Dimensions1097 cm × 518 cm (432 in × 204 in)
LocationPiccadilly Circus, London, W1
Coordinates51.50984°N 0.13449°W / 51.50984; -0.13449
Piccadilly Circus in 1896, with the fountain in the foreground, its pre-WWII position nearer the centre of the Circus
The fountain in 2016

Description and history

Alfred Gilbert's 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." The statue has been called "London's most famous work of sculpture";[1] 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.

Although the statue is generally known as Eros, it was created as an image of that Greek god's brother, Anteros.[2] 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).[3] Fernando Meacci was involved in the moulding of the fountain[4] and it was probably cast by George Broad & Son.[5]

The memorial was unveiled by the Duke of Westminster on 29 June 1893.[6] Following the unveiling there were numerous complaints. Some felt it was sited in a vulgar part of town (the theatre district), and others felt that it was too sensual as a memorial for a famously sober and respectable Earl. Some of the objections were tempered by renaming the statue as The Angel of Christian Charity,[7] which was the nearest approximation that could be invented in Christian terms for the role Anteros played in the Greek pantheon. However, the name never became widely known and the statue was thence referred to as Eros, the god of sensual love; inappropriate some said in relation to the Earl's commemoration, but hailed by others as an ironic representation of the more carnal side of the neighbourhood, into which Soho had developed.

The whole memorial has been removed from the circus twice in its history. In 1922, construction began on the new tube station directly beneath the memorial. The memorial was therefore taken away and put in Embankment Gardens. It returned to Piccadilly Circus in 1931, but when the Second World War broke out in 1939, the statue only was removed for safety and kept in Egham. It did not return to Piccadilly Circus again until 1948.[8][9]

The statue was again removed in the 1980s – this time for restoration – and resited upon its return in February 1985. During the restoration a set of plaster casts was unearthed in the basements of the Victoria and Albert Museum which revealed damage to the statue.[10] The statue was also vandalised in 1990 and after radiography and restoration returned in 1994.[11] In May 2012 the statue had a new bow string fitted after the original was broken by a tourist.[12]

In the winter of 2013–14 the statue was covered with a PVC snow globe featuring internal fans blowing the "snowflakes". This also had the function of protecting the statue from vandalism and it was planned to return in subsequent years. However, strong winds caused the globe to become damaged and deflate and it was not subsequently repaired.[13] In winter 2014–15 octagonal advertising hoardings forming a box for giant Christmas presents had a similar function.[14]

gollark: Look, you can use this to decode this.
gollark: I even posted the decoder!
gollark: Yes.
gollark: It keeps increasing the login timeout each time I try and log in. Darn you to heck, good security!
gollark: _discovers that he has forgotten the password_

See also

References
  1. Bradley, Simon; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2003), London: Westminster, The Buildings of England, 6, London and New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 58CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Lloyd; Mitchinson (2006). The Book of General Ignorance. Because of the bow and the nudity... everybody assumed it was Eros, the Greek god of love
  3. "Eros", National Conservation Centre
  4. British bronze sculpture founders and plaster figure makers, 1800–1980 – M
  5. British bronze sculpture founders and plaster figure makers, 1800–1980 – B
  6. Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011), Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1, Public Sculpture of Britain, 14, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, p. 225.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  7. Fountains and Water Features Archived 27 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Weinreb, Ben and Hibbert, Christopher (1992). The London Encyclopaedia (reprint ed.). Macmillan. p. 271.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  9. Marshall, Prince (1972). Wheels of London. The Sunday Times Magazine. ISBN 0-7230-0068-9.
  10. Eros Restored : For a Mere $250,000 You Can Own a Life-Size Casting of One of London's Best-Known Statues, 31 May 1987|Bevis Hillier
  11. Repairs and Alterations to Listed Building Supplementary Planning Guidance
  12. Universal restring Eros after he broke his bow!
  13. Piccadilly Circus Eros 'snow globe' will not return
  14. NOV 28, 2014| LOCAL AUTHORITY CONTRACT. Eros surrounded by box of giant Christmas presents
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