View allAll Photos Tagged OSCARWILDE,
The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)
By Danny Osborne
Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group
The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.
I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.
Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.
These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.
Irish Ferries Oscar Wild tucked up for Christmas 2015 in Dublin.
Oscar operated an unusual Dublin- Cherbourg sailing today due to stormy seas around Rosslare, the weather here in Dublin not much better, despite the calm above, the seas can be a dangerous place.
"Don't squander the gold of your days,
listening to the tedious,
trying to improve the hopeless...
Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you,
let nothing be lost upon you"
Oscar Wilde
326/365
Aubrey Beardsley (1872 – 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His drawings in black ink, influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James McNeill Whistler. Beardsley's contribution to the development of the Art Nouveau and poster styles was significant, despite the brevity of his career before his early death from tuberculosis. [Source: Wikipedia]
This very popular installation is located in Merrion Square Park in Dublin.
In 2016 I reported that the restoration of the Oscar Wilde installation had been completed with the return of the two minor bronzes to their plinths. The stone plinths or pillars are covered in quotations from Wilde. One has a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling on the top, while the other has a bronze male torso. One explanation is that they indicate Wilde's ambiguous sexuality and aesthetic sensibilities.
At the time I also reported that the orientation of the female nude has been corrected. It should be noted that the female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was six months pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Originally she was facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the authorities restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction and then the tour guides came up with stories to explain why she had turned her back on her husband.
She is facing a different direction now but I am not 100% convinced that one could claim that she is now facing Oscar. Maybe she should be on the other plinth.
The sculptor Danny Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde than you would find in a conventional statue.
Wilde’s jacket is green stone which is complemented by red stone cuffs. The sculpture includes two stone pillars which are covered in quotations by Oscar Wilde. Placed on top of the pillars are two sculptures, one of the sculptures is a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling this represents Oscars wife Constance, while the other pillar has a bronze male torso.
The two pillars which flank Oscar Wilde on both sides are used to set out his thoughts, opinions, witticisms on art and life for all to see and judge. These quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures, artists, and scientists, who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him.
"And alien tears will fill for him,
Pity's long-broken urn,
For his mourners will be outcast men,
And outcasts always mourn."
~ Oscar Wilde
★
Irish Ferries' Oscar Wilde has returned to Dublin to help out for the late autumn\winter months, a role which was to have been taken by W.B Yeats, soon to start sea trials in Germany.
Seen here arriving into Dublin to the backdrop of Clontarf, sailings to Cherbourg from Dublin much more on her sailing programme this year.
October 2018
OSCAR WILDE (October 16, 1854 -October 30, 1900)
101 views of OSCAR WILDE's TOMB at PERE LACHAISE Cemetery in Paris.
the story of the statue is a wild one....for it has folklore on its own...the 'winged angel' represents oscar wilde with it's enormous erect 'man part'. At the turn of the 1900's this scandalized paris.
only recently, the late 1980's onward, copious women have kissed his grave leaving their lipstick marks. it seems more likely that OSCAR would appreciate guys pressing their lips to his grave. so when ADDA DADA first visited his grave back in the 1980's, he placed a nice smack on OSCAR's grave...sans lipstick, though, for ADDA never could find the right color...
------------------
OSCAR WILDE passed away on OCTOBER 20, 1900, in L'HOTEL on RUE BEAUX ARTS in ROOM 16.
The room still has the original furnishings including OSCARS death bed. One night is now only 600 euros ($900)! Don't think it is a little hovel of a room. It has a balcony; receiving room, and THE bedroom, which, yes, still has the original wallpaper!
"EITHER THAT WALLPAPER GOES OR I DO" was OSCARS last words on October 30, 1900.
-------------------------
OSCAR WILDE
Born October 16, 1854 DUBLIN
Died November 30, 1900 PARIS
Oscar's body had to wait 9 years in Bagneaux cemetery while the tomb was being prepared and various protests were held. WILDE's remains were finally transferred to PERE LACHAISE on july 19, 1909. (The doctors had advised that OSCAR be buried in quicklime to reduce the body to bone before the transfer. Instead, the substance preserved him, shocking the gravediggers, for his hair and beard had even grown longer.)
it took artist JACOB EPSTEIN three years to sculpt his monument, which represents OSCAR WILDE as a 'winged messenger'. It is done in the egyptian art deco style. When EPSTEIN arrived to put the finishing touches on the statue, he found it shrouded and guarded by police for the cemetery conservator had found it 'indecent' and they wanted it banned & removed !
the statue had an erect penis !
officials refused to bow to public intellectual pressure until an acceptable alteration was made-so a plaque of a fig leaf was put over the 'privates' making them private.
the tomb was FINALLY unveiled in 1914, but by 1922 the erect penis had hacked away! The fig leaf as well as a substantial portion of the stone penis lay beneath.
(rumor has it that the conservator, after finding the parts at the monument's base, was supposed to have used them as paperweight)
OSCAR WILDE's poem , THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL is engraved on the back of the tomb:
and alien tears will fill for him
pity's long broken urn
for his mourners will be outcast men
and outcasts always mourn.
September 2013
first capture: "Let´s see."
second capture: "I look around, if anyone can see me!"
third capture: "In that case, enjoy your meal!"
It was only in the mire that we met: and fascinating, terribly fascinating though the one topic round which your talk invariably centred was, still at the end it became quite monotonous to me.
Oscar Wilde - De Profundis
L HOTEL on RUE BEAUX ARTS ROOM 16 in PARIS is where OSCAR WILDE passed away.
OSCAR WILDE (October 16, 1854 -November 30, 1900)
101 views of OSCAR WILDE's TOMB at PERE LACHAISE Cemetery in Paris.
the story of the statue is a wild one....for it has folklore on its own...the 'winged angel' represents oscar wilde with it's enormous erect 'man part'. At the turn of the 1900's this scandalized paris.
only recently, the late 1980's onward, copious women have kissed his grave leaving their lipstick marks. it seems more likely that OSCAR would appreciate guys pressing their lips to his grave. so when ADDA DADA first visited his grave back in the 1980's, he placed a nice smack on OSCAR's grave...sans lipstick, though, for ADDA never could find the right color...
------------------
OSCAR WILDE passed away on November 30, 1900, in L'HOTEL on RUE BEAUX ARTS in ROOM 16.
The room still has the original furnishings including OSCARS death bed. One night is now only 600 euros ($900)! Don't think it is a little hovel of a room. It has a balcony; receiving room, and THE bedroom, which, yes, still has the original wallpaper!
"EITHER THAT WALLPAPER GOES OR I DO" was OSCARS last words on November 30, 1900.
-------------------------
OSCAR WILDE
Born October 16, 1854 DUBLIN
Died November 30, 1900 PARIS
Oscar's body had to wait 9 years in Bagneaux cemetery while the tomb was being prepared and various protests were held. WILDE's remains were finally transferred to PERE LACHAISE on july 19, 1909. (The doctors had advised that OSCAR be buried in quicklime to reduce the body to bone before the transfer. Instead, the substance preserved him, shocking the gravediggers, for his hair and beard had even grown longer.)
it took artist JACOB EPSTEIN three years to sculpt his monument, which represents OSCAR WILDE as a 'winged messenger'. It is done in the egyptian art deco style. When EPSTEIN arrived to put the finishing touches on the statue, he found it shrouded and guarded by police for the cemetery conservator had found it 'indecent' and they wanted it banned & removed !
the statue had an erect penis !
officials refused to bow to public intellectual pressure until an acceptable alteration was made-so a plaque of a fig leaf was put over the 'privates' making them private.
the tomb was FINALLY unveiled in 1914, but by 1922 the erect penis had hacked away! The fig leaf as well as a substantial portion of the stone penis lay beneath.
(rumor has it that the conservator, after finding the parts at the monument's base, was supposed to have used them as paperweight)
OSCAR WILDE's poem , THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL is engraved on the back of the tomb:
and alien tears will fill for him
pity's long broken urn
for his mourners will be outcast men
and outcasts always mourn.
The setting has changed since my last visit and now the sculptures are visible from outside the park and they are easier to photograph.
NOTE: The female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was six months pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Apparently she should be facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the authorities restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction.
Merrion Square is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. The poet, novelist, and satirist Oscar Wilde lived at No. 1, poet W. B. Yeats lived at No. 82, and Daniel O'Connell at No. 58, now home to the Keough-Naughton Center of the University of Notre Dame. The National Maternity Hospital is on the North terrace. A number of houses in the square have plaques with historical information on former notable residents, including A.E. (George William Russell) and Sheridan Le Fanu.
You can find Oscar Wilde's statue in Merrion Square Public Park. The statue shows Oscar Wilde reclining on a large granite rock without a care in the world. The statue is positioned so that he is looking at his old family home number 1 Merrion Square, on the north side of Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne was commissioned to sculpt the Oscar Wilde Statue by the Guinness Ireland group. The process took over two years from start to finish. The sculptor used colored stones and stones with varying textures to give the statue a much more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde. Green stone is used in Oscar's jacket and red stones are used in the jacket's lapels and cuffs.
Two stone pillars stand nearby the sculpture which are covered in Oscar Wilde quotes.
Their outfits remind me of Oscar Wilde in his 'aesthetic dress' with knee breeches. So maybe they're a couple of aesthetes! Incidentally, I'm sure these two ladies are the cowgirls in the previous picture. They must have had a fun day at the studio.
Taken by The Fancy Dress Studio, 37 Oxford Street, London.
Postcard backed photograph, found in Liverpool.
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden.
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other.
One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.
"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED
He was a very selfish Giant.
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other.
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.
"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."
But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. "I believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.
What did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. "Climb up! little boy," said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.
And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have been!" he said; "now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had done.
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. "It is your garden now, little children," said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.
All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye.
"But where is your little companion?" he said: "the boy I put into the tree." The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.
"We don't know," answered the children; "he has gone away."
"You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow," said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. "How I would like to see him!" he used to say.
Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. "I have many beautiful flowers," he said; "but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all."
One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, "Who hath dared to wound thee?" For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.
"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant; "tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him."
"Nay!" answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love."
"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.
And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise."
And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
NOTE: The female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was six months pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Apparently she should be facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the authorities restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction.
Merrion Square is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. The poet, novelist, and satirist Oscar Wilde lived at No. 1, poet W. B. Yeats lived at No. 82, and Daniel O'Connell at No. 58, now home to the Keough-Naughton Center of the University of Notre Dame. The National Maternity Hospital is on the North terrace. A number of houses in the square have plaques with historical information on former notable residents, including A.E. (George William Russell) and Sheridan Le Fanu.
You can find Oscar Wilde's statue in Merrion Square Public Park. The statue shows Oscar Wilde reclining on a large granite rock without a care in the world. The statue is positioned so that he is looking at his old family home number 1 Merrion Square, on the north side of Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne was commissioned to sculpt the Oscar Wilde Statue by the Guinness Ireland group. The process took over two years from start to finish. The sculptor used colored stones and stones with varying textures to give the statue a much more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde. Green stone is used in Oscar's jacket and red stones are used in the jacket's lapels and cuffs.
Two stone pillars stand nearby the sculpture which are covered in Oscar Wilde quotes.
La danza dei sette veli di Salomè (Presepe vivente di Castanea delle Furie - Messina)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDevmRcA-AQ&NR=1
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/MaudeAllanSal...
Today it was interesting to see just how popular Oscar Wilde in Merrion square is as a tourist attraction.
Danny Osborne is an artist born in Dorset, England in 1949.He is a resident of Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada and Cork, Ireland. Osborne studied at Bournemouth & Poole College of Art. He is best known for his public sculptures, particularly his Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture "The Quare in the Square in Merrion Square Park" (originally commissioned by Guinness Ireland Group for £45,000 and located across from Ireland's National Gallery.
I like to listen to the tourist guides explaining this public art installation to visitors from all parts of the world and how often their descriptions are incorrect or incomplete. But, of course, the exact details are not all that important.
In 2016 I mentioned that the restoration of the Oscar Wilde installation had been completed with the return of the two minor bronzes to their plinths. The stone plinths or pillars are covered in quotations from Wilde. One has a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling on the top, while the other has a bronze male torso. One explanation is that they indicate Wilde's ambiguous sexuality and aesthetic sensibilities.
At the time I also reported that the orientation of the female nude has been corrected. It should be noted that the female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Originally she was facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the park staff restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction and then the tour guides came up with stories to explain why she had turned her back on her husband.
She is facing a different direction now but I am not 100% convinced that one could claim that she is now facing Oscar. Maybe she should be on the other plinth.
The sculptor Danny Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde than you would find in a conventional statue.
Wilde’s jacket is green stone which is complemented by red stone cuffs. The sculpture includes two stone pillars which are covered in quotations by Oscar Wilde. Placed on top of the pillars are two sculptures, one of the sculptures is a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling this represents Oscars wife Constance, while the other pillar has a bronze male torso.
The two pillars which flank Oscar Wilde on both sides are used to set out his thoughts, opinions, witticisms on art and life for all to see and judge. These quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures, artists, and scientists, who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him.
NOTE: The female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was six months pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Apparently she should be facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the authorities restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction.
Merrion Square is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. The poet, novelist, and satirist Oscar Wilde lived at No. 1, poet W. B. Yeats lived at No. 82, and Daniel O'Connell at No. 58, now home to the Keough-Naughton Center of the University of Notre Dame. The National Maternity Hospital is on the North terrace. A number of houses in the square have plaques with historical information on former notable residents, including A.E. (George William Russell) and Sheridan Le Fanu.
You can find Oscar Wilde's statue in Merrion Square Public Park. The statue shows Oscar Wilde reclining on a large granite rock without a care in the world. The statue is positioned so that he is looking at his old family home number 1 Merrion Square, on the north side of Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne was commissioned to sculpt the Oscar Wilde Statue by the Guinness Ireland group. The process took over two years from start to finish. The sculptor used colored stones and stones with varying textures to give the statue a much more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde. Green stone is used in Oscar's jacket and red stones are used in the jacket's lapels and cuffs.
Two stone pillars stand nearby the sculpture which are covered in Oscar Wilde quotes.
Today it was interesting to see just how popular Oscar Wilde in Merrion square is as a tourist attraction.
Danny Osborne is an artist born in Dorset, England in 1949.He is a resident of Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada and Cork, Ireland. Osborne studied at Bournemouth & Poole College of Art. He is best known for his public sculptures, particularly his Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture "The Quare in the Square in Merrion Square Park" (originally commissioned by Guinness Ireland Group for £45,000 and located across from Ireland's National Gallery.
I like to listen to the tourist guides explaining this public art installation to visitors from all parts of the world and how often their descriptions are incorrect or incomplete. But, of course, the exact details are not all that important.
In 2016 I mentioned that the restoration of the Oscar Wilde installation had been completed with the return of the two minor bronzes to their plinths. The stone plinths or pillars are covered in quotations from Wilde. One has a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling on the top, while the other has a bronze male torso. One explanation is that they indicate Wilde's ambiguous sexuality and aesthetic sensibilities.
At the time I also reported that the orientation of the female nude has been corrected. It should be noted that the female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Originally she was facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the park staff restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction and then the tour guides came up with stories to explain why she had turned her back on her husband.
She is facing a different direction now but I am not 100% convinced that one could claim that she is now facing Oscar. Maybe she should be on the other plinth.
The sculptor Danny Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde than you would find in a conventional statue.
Wilde’s jacket is green stone which is complemented by red stone cuffs. The sculpture includes two stone pillars which are covered in quotations by Oscar Wilde. Placed on top of the pillars are two sculptures, one of the sculptures is a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling this represents Oscars wife Constance, while the other pillar has a bronze male torso.
The two pillars which flank Oscar Wilde on both sides are used to set out his thoughts, opinions, witticisms on art and life for all to see and judge. These quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures, artists, and scientists, who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him.
Today it was interesting to see just how popular Oscar Wilde in Merrion square is as a tourist attraction.
Danny Osborne is an artist born in Dorset, England in 1949.He is a resident of Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada and Cork, Ireland. Osborne studied at Bournemouth & Poole College of Art. He is best known for his public sculptures, particularly his Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture "The Quare in the Square in Merrion Square Park" (originally commissioned by Guinness Ireland Group for £45,000 and located across from Ireland's National Gallery.
I like to listen to the tourist guides explaining this public art installation to visitors from all parts of the world and how often their descriptions are incorrect or incomplete. But, of course, the exact details are not all that important.
In 2016 I mentioned that the restoration of the Oscar Wilde installation had been completed with the return of the two minor bronzes to their plinths. The stone plinths or pillars are covered in quotations from Wilde. One has a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling on the top, while the other has a bronze male torso. One explanation is that they indicate Wilde's ambiguous sexuality and aesthetic sensibilities.
At the time I also reported that the orientation of the female nude has been corrected. It should be noted that the female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Originally she was facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the park staff restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction and then the tour guides came up with stories to explain why she had turned her back on her husband.
She is facing a different direction now but I am not 100% convinced that one could claim that she is now facing Oscar. Maybe she should be on the other plinth.
The sculptor Danny Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde than you would find in a conventional statue.
Wilde’s jacket is green stone which is complemented by red stone cuffs. The sculpture includes two stone pillars which are covered in quotations by Oscar Wilde. Placed on top of the pillars are two sculptures, one of the sculptures is a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling this represents Oscars wife Constance, while the other pillar has a bronze male torso.
The two pillars which flank Oscar Wilde on both sides are used to set out his thoughts, opinions, witticisms on art and life for all to see and judge. These quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures, artists, and scientists, who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him.
Today it was interesting to see just how popular Oscar Wilde in Merrion square is as a tourist attraction.
Danny Osborne is an artist born in Dorset, England in 1949.He is a resident of Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada and Cork, Ireland. Osborne studied at Bournemouth & Poole College of Art. He is best known for his public sculptures, particularly his Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture "The Quare in the Square in Merrion Square Park" (originally commissioned by Guinness Ireland Group for £45,000 and located across from Ireland's National Gallery.
I like to listen to the tourist guides explaining this public art installation to visitors from all parts of the world and how often their descriptions are incorrect or incomplete. But, of course, the exact details are not all that important.
In 2016 I mentioned that the restoration of the Oscar Wilde installation had been completed with the return of the two minor bronzes to their plinths. The stone plinths or pillars are covered in quotations from Wilde. One has a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling on the top, while the other has a bronze male torso. One explanation is that they indicate Wilde's ambiguous sexuality and aesthetic sensibilities.
At the time I also reported that the orientation of the female nude has been corrected. It should be noted that the female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Originally she was facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the park staff restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction and then the tour guides came up with stories to explain why she had turned her back on her husband.
She is facing a different direction now but I am not 100% convinced that one could claim that she is now facing Oscar. Maybe she should be on the other plinth.
The sculptor Danny Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde than you would find in a conventional statue.
Wilde’s jacket is green stone which is complemented by red stone cuffs. The sculpture includes two stone pillars which are covered in quotations by Oscar Wilde. Placed on top of the pillars are two sculptures, one of the sculptures is a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling this represents Oscars wife Constance, while the other pillar has a bronze male torso.
The two pillars which flank Oscar Wilde on both sides are used to set out his thoughts, opinions, witticisms on art and life for all to see and judge. These quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures, artists, and scientists, who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him.
Original portrait by Napolean Sarony. I found this image in the Wikimedia Commons; apparently it has no copyright restrictions. You can see the original here: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oscar_Wilde_3g07095u.jpg
I have done some editing, including a couple of texture layers.
The setting has changed since my last visit and now the sculptures are visible from outside the park and they are easier to photograph.
NOTE: The female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was six months pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Apparently she should be facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the authorities restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction.
Merrion Square is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. The poet, novelist, and satirist Oscar Wilde lived at No. 1, poet W. B. Yeats lived at No. 82, and Daniel O'Connell at No. 58, now home to the Keough-Naughton Center of the University of Notre Dame. The National Maternity Hospital is on the North terrace. A number of houses in the square have plaques with historical information on former notable residents, including A.E. (George William Russell) and Sheridan Le Fanu.
You can find Oscar Wilde's statue in Merrion Square Public Park. The statue shows Oscar Wilde reclining on a large granite rock without a care in the world. The statue is positioned so that he is looking at his old family home number 1 Merrion Square, on the north side of Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne was commissioned to sculpt the Oscar Wilde Statue by the Guinness Ireland group. The process took over two years from start to finish. The sculptor used colored stones and stones with varying textures to give the statue a much more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde. Green stone is used in Oscar's jacket and red stones are used in the jacket's lapels and cuffs.
Two stone pillars stand nearby the sculpture which are covered in Oscar Wilde quotes.
The setting has changed since my last visit and now the sculptures are visible from outside the park and they are easier to photograph.
NOTE: The female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was six months pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Apparently she should be facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the authorities restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction.
Merrion Square is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. The poet, novelist, and satirist Oscar Wilde lived at No. 1, poet W. B. Yeats lived at No. 82, and Daniel O'Connell at No. 58, now home to the Keough-Naughton Center of the University of Notre Dame. The National Maternity Hospital is on the North terrace. A number of houses in the square have plaques with historical information on former notable residents, including A.E. (George William Russell) and Sheridan Le Fanu.
You can find Oscar Wilde's statue in Merrion Square Public Park. The statue shows Oscar Wilde reclining on a large granite rock without a care in the world. The statue is positioned so that he is looking at his old family home number 1 Merrion Square, on the north side of Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne was commissioned to sculpt the Oscar Wilde Statue by the Guinness Ireland group. The process took over two years from start to finish. The sculptor used colored stones and stones with varying textures to give the statue a much more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde. Green stone is used in Oscar's jacket and red stones are used in the jacket's lapels and cuffs.
Two stone pillars stand nearby the sculpture which are covered in Oscar Wilde quotes.
Wilde's final address was at the dingy Hôtel d'Alsace (now known as L'Hôtel), in Paris; "This poverty really breaks one's heart: it is so sale, so utterly depressing, so hopeless. Pray do what you can" he wrote to his publisher.[159] He corrected and published An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, the proofs of which Ellmann argues show a man "very much in command of himself and of the play" but he refused to write anything else "I can write, but have lost the joy of writing".[160] He spent much time wandering the Boulevards alone, and spent what little money he had on alcohol.[161] A series of embarrassing encounters with English visitors, or Frenchmen he had known in better days, further damaged his spirit. Soon Wilde was sufficiently confined to his hotel to remark, on one of his final trips outside, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has got to go."[162] On 12 October 1900 he sent a telegram to Ross: "Terribly weak. Please come."[163] His moods fluctuated; Max Beerbohm relates how their mutual friend Reginald 'Reggie' Turner had found Wilde very depressed after a nightmare. "I dreamt that I had died, and was supping with the dead!" "I am sure", Turner replied, "that you must have been the life and soul of the party."[164][165] Turner was one of the very few of the old circle who remained with Wilde right to the end, and was at his bedside when he died.
Death[edit]
This very popular installation is located in Merrion Square Park in Dublin.
In 2016 I reported that the restoration of the Oscar Wilde installation had been completed with the return of the two minor bronzes to their plinths. The stone plinths or pillars are covered in quotations from Wilde. One has a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling on the top, while the other has a bronze male torso. One explanation is that they indicate Wilde's ambiguous sexuality and aesthetic sensibilities.
At the time I also reported that the orientation of the female nude has been corrected. It should be noted that the female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was six months pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Originally she was facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the authorities restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction and then the tour guides came up with stories to explain why she had turned her back on her husband.
She is facing a different direction now but I am not 100% convinced that one could claim that she is now facing Oscar. Maybe she should be on the other plinth.
The sculptor Danny Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde than you would find in a conventional statue.
Wilde’s jacket is green stone which is complemented by red stone cuffs. The sculpture includes two stone pillars which are covered in quotations by Oscar Wilde. Placed on top of the pillars are two sculptures, one of the sculptures is a bronze figure of a pregnant naked woman kneeling this represents Oscars wife Constance, while the other pillar has a bronze male torso.
The two pillars which flank Oscar Wilde on both sides are used to set out his thoughts, opinions, witticisms on art and life for all to see and judge. These quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures, artists, and scientists, who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him.
The setting has changed since my last visit and now the sculptures are visible from outside the park and they are easier to photograph.
NOTE: The female nude is Oscar’s wife [Constance Lloyd] who was six months pregnant when Oscar had his first homosexual encounter. Apparently she should be facing Oscar but someone tried to steal the bronze and when the authorities restored it they installed it facing the wrong direction.
Merrion Square is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. The poet, novelist, and satirist Oscar Wilde lived at No. 1, poet W. B. Yeats lived at No. 82, and Daniel O'Connell at No. 58, now home to the Keough-Naughton Center of the University of Notre Dame. The National Maternity Hospital is on the North terrace. A number of houses in the square have plaques with historical information on former notable residents, including A.E. (George William Russell) and Sheridan Le Fanu.
You can find Oscar Wilde's statue in Merrion Square Public Park. The statue shows Oscar Wilde reclining on a large granite rock without a care in the world. The statue is positioned so that he is looking at his old family home number 1 Merrion Square, on the north side of Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne was commissioned to sculpt the Oscar Wilde Statue by the Guinness Ireland group. The process took over two years from start to finish. The sculptor used colored stones and stones with varying textures to give the statue a much more lifelike representation of Oscar Wilde. Green stone is used in Oscar's jacket and red stones are used in the jacket's lapels and cuffs.
Two stone pillars stand nearby the sculpture which are covered in Oscar Wilde quotes.
The Thin Man (film)
Directed by
W. S. Van Dyke
Produced by
Hunt Stromberg
Screenplay by
Albert Hackett
Frances Goodrich
Based on
The Thin Man
by Dashiell Hammett
Starring
William Powell
Myrna Loy
Music by
William Axt
Cinematography
James Wong Howe
Edited by
Robert Kern
Production
company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
May 25, 1934 (USA)
Running time
93 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$226,408
Box office
$1,423,000 (worldwide est.)
The Thin Man is a 1934 American comedy-mystery film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The film stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles; Nick is a hard-drinking, retired private detective and Nora is a wealthy heiress. Their wire-haired fox terrier Asta was played by canine actor Skippy.
The film's screenplay was written by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, a married couple. In 1934, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The titular "Thin Man" is not Nick Charles, but the man Charles is initially hired to find - Clyde Wynant (part way through the film, Charles describes Wynant as a "thin man with white hair"). The "Thin Man" moniker was thought by many viewers to refer to Nick Charles and, after a time, it was used in the titles of sequels as if referring to Charles.
Plot
Nick Charles (Powell), a retired detective, and his wife Nora (Loy) are attempting to settle down. They are based in Los Angeles but decide to spend the Christmas holidays in New York. There he is pressed back into service by a young woman whose father, an old friend of Nick's, has disappeared after a murder. The friend, Clyde Wynant (Ellis) (the eponymous "thin man"), has mysteriously vanished. When his former secretary and love interest, Julia Wolf, is found dead, evidence points to Wynant as the prime suspect, but his daughter Dorothy (O'Sullivan) refuses to believe that her father is guilty. She convinces Nick to take the case, much to the amusement of his socialite wife. The detective begins to uncover clues and eventually solves the mystery of the disappearance through a series of investigative steps.
The murderer is finally revealed in a classic dinner-party scene that features all of the suspects. A skeletonized body, found during the investigation, had been assumed to be that of a "fat man" because it is wearing oversize clothing. The clothes are revealed to be planted, and the identity of the body is accurately determined by an old war wound to the leg. It turns out that the body belongs to a "thin man" — the missing Wynant. The double murder has been disguised in such a way as to make it seem that Wynant is the killer and still alive. The real killer was the attorney, who stole a lot of money from Wynant and killed him on the night he was last seen.
Cast
William Powell as Nick Charles
Myrna Loy as Nora Charles
Skippy as Asta, their dog
Maureen O'Sullivan as Dorothy Wynant
Nat Pendleton as Lt. John Guild
Minna Gombell as Mimi Wynant Jorgenson
Porter Hall as Herbert MacCaulay
Henry Wadsworth as Tommy
William Henry as Gilbert Wynant
Harold Huber as Arthur Nunheim
Cesar Romero as Chris Jorgenson
Natalie Moorhead as Julia Wolf
Edward Ellis as Clyde Wynant
Edward Brophy as Joe Morelli[1]
Cast notes:
Uncredited cast members include Clay Clement, Pat Flaherty, Douglas Fowley, Christian J. Frank, Creighton Hale, Edward Hearn, Robert Homans, Walter Long, Fred Malatesta, Lee Phelps, Bert Roach, Rolfe Sedan, Gertrude Short, Lee Shumway, Ben Taggart, Harry Tenbrook and Leo White.[2]
Production
The entire film was shot in twelve (out of fourteen) days. The film was released on May 25, 1934, only four months after the release of the book, which had been released in January 1934.
Reception
The film was such a success that it spawned five sequels:
After the Thin Man (1936)
Another Thin Man (1939)
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
In 2002, critic Roger Ebert added the film to his list of Great Movies. [3] Ebert praises William Powell's performance in particular, stating that Powell "is to dialogue as Fred Astaire is to dance. His delivery is so droll and insinuating, so knowing and innocent at the same time, that it hardly matters what he's saying."
In 1997, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2000 American Film Institute designated the film as one of the great comedies in the previous hundred years of cinema.
Trailer
The trailer contained specially filmed footage in which Nick Charles (William Powell) is seen on the cover of the Dashiell Hammett novel The Thin Man. Nick Charles then steps out of the cover to talk to fellow detective Philo Vance (also played by Powell) about his latest case.
Charles mentions he hasn't seen Vance since The Kennel Murder Case, a film in which Powell played Vance. The Kennel Murder Case was released in October 1933, just seven months prior to the release of The Thin Man.
Charles goes on to explain to Vance that his latest case revolves around a "tall, thin man" (referring to Clyde Wynant), just before clips of the film are shown.
Adaptations
The Thin Man was dramatized as a radio play on the June 8, 1936 broadcast of Lux Radio Theater, with William Powell and Myrna Loy reprising their film roles.
Remake
In May 2011, it was reported that Johnny Depp will star in a remake of the film, directed by Rob Marshall.[5] The project, however, was reportedly put on hold in 2012.
Influence
In the 1976 comedy spoof movie Murder by Death, the characters of Nick and Nora Charles became Dick and Dora Charleston, played by David Niven and Maggie Smith. The 1979-1984 ABC television weekly romantic detective series Hart To Hart also mimicked the central conceit. It starred Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers and Lionel Stander. In the 11th episode of the 2 season of the series, "Slow Boat to Murder", there is also a scene where the Harts watch the film on TV. In the 2005 animated film Hoodwinked!, the character Nicky Flippers, a frog detective voiced by David Ogden Stiers, was based on Nick Charles.
Irish Ferries' Ireland-France ship Oscar Wilde completes mooring at Harland and Wolff in Belfast under the watchful eye of Samson & Goliath.
She was originally to have been drydocked in Falmouth but a drydock overrun meant she was instead diverted to Belfast.
Photo Taken February 2016.
The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)
By Danny Osborne
Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group
The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.
I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.
Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.
These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.
The Oscar Wilde Memorial (1997)
By Danny Osborne
Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group
The lens that I used is very sharp so you can now read the quotes on the black pillars if you view the higher resolution versions of the photographs.
I assume that that restoration work is underway as the two small bronze figures are missing from the two pillars which appear to be in better condition than they were the last time I paid a visit to the park.
Oscar Wilde’s (1854-1900) rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition have made him one of Ireland’s most popular and loved writer’s. His short stories, plays and poems continue to inspire and entertain people the world over. This memorial fittingly captures Wilde’s dramatic and audacious personality. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and created by Irish sculptor Danny Osborne, the memo- rial took almost two and a half years from conception to completion. Geologists, quarry owners, glass workers and foundries from all over the world were consulted. Osborne used complementary colour stones and also sought out stones with varying textures to give a much more lifelike representation of Wilde than in a conventional statue.
These stones and materials include bronze, glass, granite, jade, porcelain, quartz and thulite. As one can see Wilde’s green jacket of nephrite jade from Canada, is complimented by red cuffs made of thulite from Norway. The sculpture is accompanied by two stone pillars which are covered in quotations of Wilde’s writing. These quotes set out these thoughts, opinions and witticisms on art and life. The quotes were selected by a mixture of poets, public figures and artists who use Wilde’s own words to pay tribute to him. The etchings of the chosen quotes copy the personal handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, John B. Keane and President Michael D. Higgins. Placed on top of the pillars are two small bronze sculptures, one of a pregnant woman who represents Wilde’s wife Constance and the theme of life, staring accusingly across the path at her husband, while the other is a male torso representing Dionysus and the theme of art. With Wilde, reclining on his rocky perch, facing towards his childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square.
Danny Osborne has worked as a very successful full time artist since 1971. He has travelled extensively, participated in expeditions to the Arctic, Andes and the Himalayas, and has documented his experiences through painting and sculpture. Osborne’s sculptures tend to be created using a variety of stones and porcelain like The Oscar Wilde Memorial.