Trafalgar Square Bronze Lions
Sculptor, Mr. Thomas Milnes, of London, designed four sandstone lions for the base of the column, but after he had completed the models and made all preparations for proceeding with the work, the commission was taken out of his hands and given to Sir Edwin Landseer. It seems they were judged not impressive enough for the memorial to Nelson, and were in the end bought by Titus Salt, and sent to his village of Saltaire, where they remain today.
Sir Edwin Landseer decided to make the lions out of bronze, and Nelson had to wait until 1867 for his lions. Landseer had asked for a lion that had died at the London Zoo to be brought to his studio. He took so long to complete sketches that its corpse began to decompose and some parts had to be improvised, and he made a mistake with the lion’s poses since in real life, lion's backs are convex when lying down, not concave. Each lion weighs seven tons.
There is a notice warning people not to climb on the lions because they may slip off; but children are children.
Trafalgar Square Bronze Lions
Sculptor, Mr. Thomas Milnes, of London, designed four sandstone lions for the base of the column, but after he had completed the models and made all preparations for proceeding with the work, the commission was taken out of his hands and given to Sir Edwin Landseer. It seems they were judged not impressive enough for the memorial to Nelson, and were in the end bought by Titus Salt, and sent to his village of Saltaire, where they remain today.
Sir Edwin Landseer decided to make the lions out of bronze, and Nelson had to wait until 1867 for his lions. Landseer had asked for a lion that had died at the London Zoo to be brought to his studio. He took so long to complete sketches that its corpse began to decompose and some parts had to be improvised, and he made a mistake with the lion’s poses since in real life, lion's backs are convex when lying down, not concave. Each lion weighs seven tons.
There is a notice warning people not to climb on the lions because they may slip off; but children are children.