Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Triumphal Quadriga.....


This rather magnificent horse that sits above the entrance to the St. Georges Square building on the Terrace was one of eight such equestrian monuments sculpted in patinated bronze in the 1980's by Italian artist Ludovico De Luigi (excellent link) inspired by The Triumphal Quadriga or the 'horses of St. Mark's' in Venice. The other horses in this San Marco II series are in France, Switzerland, Colorado, Italy, Missouri, Illinois and the Ravagnan Gallery in Venezia. I'm not sure why but information about this sculpture was not easy to come by, after much googling and coming up with zilch, I contacted the group that once owned the building, they put me onto the architects and after some archive research (thank you so much Nick, Elizabeth and Ken) I had the artist's name. Finding out the why and how this unique and original piece came to be sitting high above the entrance to the St. Georges Square building is another matter again. I have heard that Lord Alistair McAlpine, described as a 'bon vivant, raconteur and visionary eccentric' (I'm not sure why but that just makes me want to chuckle!) was involved. I'll have to get back to you on that one because again nigh on impossible to find out through the usual sources and I'm sure it'll be a good story, alternately if there are any Perthites reading this that know the story, feel free to enlighten us! Have a happy and safe Tuesday.....


32 comments:

  1. Great horse sculpture!

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  2. Proudly going where no horse has gone before...

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  3. Nice shots, good words .. hope you had a good weekend

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  4. wonderful perspectives of a beautifully sculpted horse!

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  5. What a gorgeous sculpture, Grace! I'm a horse lover -- real and statues!! And you are indeed a terrific detective! Superb captures and a fascinating post for the day! Hope your week is off to a great start and have a lovely evening!

    Sylvia

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  6. Very interesting, I didn't know about this...

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  7. I posted a horse sculpture on my blog wall as well recently. Nice shot.

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  8. Beautiful and elegant sculpture, and great research, Grace.

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  9. I don't know why people insist on putting Bonza sculptures like this one so high up on buildings because not everyone looks up :-).

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  10. An outstanding piece of art indeed.

    Please have a good Tuesday ahead.

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  11. This is an outstanding sculpture and how wonderful that you were able to find the artist.

    We want to know more about the 'bon vivant, raconteur and visionary eccentric' and the story behind this installation. You are a great researcher, Grace.

    Bises,
    Genie

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  12. The horse sculpture is outstanding . . . very strong. As is your first photo.

    Maybe the sculptor could find eight cities or real estate developers willing to pay his price for the horses?

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  13. What a magnificent statue! Isn't it interesting that with all the information our there on the information superhighway, sometimes it is just impossible to find out things! Good job to get what you did! I am thankful for your tenacity!

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  14. Certainly is a magnificent piece. Good luck with your research.

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  15. Missouri? I checked the link and don't recognize the building. The a bit more research told me this is the city hall of one of our nether suburbs, a rich one. We have terrible suburban sprawl and I'd never have a reason to go out there. So, Perth taught me something about my own area.

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  16. Such an elegant and unusual horse.

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  17. Horse up there. You down there. How did you get the photo? Your zoom is not just useful for the beach. It looks a little unicorn like, without the single horn.

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  18. Great research effort Grace.

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  19. What a fabulous statue- I thought it was a zebra at first- wonderful angles on the other two photos as well Grace, and quite a story- well done on perservering with your research ;-)

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  20. An amazing sculpture Grace. Can you hop over to Venice and take a shot of one of the horses in St Marks Square in Venice for comparison?

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  21. that is one fine looking equine.

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  22. LOVE the image with the horse.

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  23. Beautiful post! Greetings from Brasov!

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  24. *Revu et corrigé*, je me disais bien qu'il avait un petit air vénitien.

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  25. Ca donne un peu d'humanité, pardon, d'animalité à ces parois de verre ennuyeuses, mais impressionnantes.

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