Oscar Wilde [installation]
Osborne, Danny
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Date
1997Description
Detail of upper part of Wilde statue; Merrion Square is a Georgian square on the south side of Dublin city center. It was laid out after 1762 and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. The central railed-off garden is now a public park. The sculpture installation includes the figure of Wilde, sitting on a 30-ton natural rock (quartz) boulder, facing 1 Merrion Square, the house in which he grew up. Also part of the installation are two granite pillars, topped with blocks of green glass and inscribed with some of his quotations; one topped with a pregnant kneeling woman (representing his wife Constance) in bronze and the other a bronze torso of a man. Wilde's figure is highly detailed, with his clothes composed of multi-colored stones, including a green smoking jacket with red cuffs. The head and hands were originally porcelain, but have been replaced (2010, by Danny Osborne) with jadeite from Guatemala.
Type of Work
sculpture (visual work)Subject
allegory, apparel, contemporary (1960 to present), human figure, literary or legendary, portrait, Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900, Twentieth century
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only