20 wonderful statues
The Sculpture has served as an inspiring representation of liberty for many years. The enormous statue, which is located in New York Harbor, has become a familiar feature of the city’s cityscape and charms both native New Yorkers and recent immigrants with its metaphoric beauty.
You’ve come to the right site if you want to find out more information about Lady Liberty. We want to throw some light on the significance of this famous sculpture with these 11 eye-opening truths about the Statue.
Although the Sculpture is the name by which most people are familiar with the statue, this term is merely a popular moniker. Liberty Enlightening the Globe (“La Liberté éclairant le monde”) was the sculpture’s official title, chosen as a poetic tribute by the French.
These names may differ, but they all refer to the same creature as a representation of “Liberty”—the Latin name for the Roman goddess Libertas, who stood for the idea of liberty.
Are you curious as to why France is where the name of the artwork originates? It’s easy to understand: Lady Liberty is a French export.
The bronze monument was being built as a present to America by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and his crew, who also included Gustave Eiffel, the man behind the creation of the famed Eiffel Tower. Particularly, it was meant to be a kind act after the American Civil War.
Parts of the artwork, which was still being completed, were displayed during the Paris World’s Fair, and it is still possible to find reminders of the memorial there now.
A few female figures, notably the Roman goddess Libertas and an Arab woman from Bartholdi’s earlier design for an Egyptian monument, served as inspiration for the Statue. A little closer to home, the sculptor’s mom Charlotte, served as the model for the monument’s face.
Libertas stood for both personal and societal independence and freedom. Bartholdi picked Libertas as the model for the Statue of Liberty since she was frequently shown as a robed woman.
Many reproductions honor Lady Liberty’s French heritage all across Paris.
A 9.4-foot-tall replica that was personally cast by Bartholdi can be found in the Musée d’Orsay. The Luxembourg Gardens once housed this statue. Now, a more recent version can be located where the first one was.
Outside the appropriately named Musée des Arts et Métiers, a gallery devoted to manufacturing, is a metal copy of the same size. The original Bartholdi plaster maquette can also be found within the exhibition.
A final version is located on the artificial island known as Île aux Cygnes in the Seine River. Essentially, America gave this artwork to the world as a “thank you” for illuminating it with freedom.
The French chose to transport the monument in 350 separate pieces because of its huge New York location. As soon as it arrived in 1884 on Bedloe Island, now known as Liberty Island, it was put together and set atop a pedestal that the Americans had first constructed.
If you enjoy watching movies, you may have watched the fall of the Monument several times. This may be the case since the sculpture is such a recognizable emblem that witnessing its destruction makes an imprint. In the movies Planet of the Apes, The Day After Tomorrow, and Liberation Day, Lady Liberty can be seen in a state of decay.
Two years after making her triumphant entrance in New York Harbor, Lady Liberty began to shine. It served as a lighthouse for 16 years, with the statue’s metaphorical lamp acting as the beacon.
However, this source of light appeared to be too weak for boats to see, and President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the monument to stop functioning as a lighthouse.
The Statue of Freedom is thought to be hit by lightning 600 times a year on normal, though this figure varies depending on the weather.
Even without having a clear purpose, the Statue of Liberty remained to be crucial. Particularly, since its inception, it has been praised for its intricate and thorough significance.
Lady Liberty is covered in metaphors all the way down to her toes. Her feet are bound in shackles that have been gloriously broken, and her crown is made up of 7 rays that represent the seven continents and oceans. A flame, symbolizing illumination, is held in one hand, while a law tablet, bearing the date “JULY IV MDCCLXXVI,” is held in the other.
She faces the southeast to greet ships—specifically those delivering immigrants to the United States the harbor, and even her posture is important.
The New Colossus, a poem that is engraved on a plaque affixed to the monument’s pedestal, is organically related with immigration in addition to the significance of its strategy implementation.
The lines “Give me your tired, your hungry, Your downtrodden masses longing to breathe free” from the poem by American poet Emma Lazarus have come to symbolize what the monument stands for.
This poem was written by Lazarus in an effort to gather funds for the Americans’ 89-foot stone pedestal building.
Although this sum might appear unexpectedly small, in today’s dollars, $500,000 is equivalent to nearly $10 million.
It is hardly surprising that Lady Liberty weighs a massive 225 tons and has a stature to match given the enormous size of this pedestal.
The Statue of Liberty is 305 ft and 2 inches tall from the root to the tip of the torch. Guests must climb 354 stairs, or 20 storeys, to reach the crown, with Lady Liberty’s size 879 shoe standing at approximately the halfway mark.
From 1984 to 1986, the Statue of Liberty underwent renovations to commemorate its centennial. This restoration work was a collaborative endeavor that involved researchers, architects, governmental agencies, and other experts.
It was a massive task that included patching up the copper, switching out corroded steel parts for stainless steel equivalents, and giving the torch a glittering gold-leaf finish.
Although the Sculpture is an American memorial, the idea of freedom it represents is international. This is symbolized by the seven continents and the 7 oceans on its summit.
There are 25 windows in the monument’s crown, which provide an unmatched perspective of New York and New Jersey but are hard to see from the floor.
The 393 stairs up to the crown’s windows require tourists to ascend them. This distance equates to about 27 stories vertically in a typical skyscraper.
The monument’s distinctive green tint persisted even after the restoration team thoroughly polished the copper surface. This layer of oxidized copper is referred to as a patina. The artwork, which was initially the reddish-brown colour of a penny, has therefore slowly changed color and will continue to be that colour for years to come.
Edouard de Laboulaye, who came up with the design for the monument, felt that it would inspire the French under Napoleon III to fight for their independence although it was a gift to the U.s.
The popularity of the Statue of Liberty has increased for more than a century. A total of 4.5 million visitors travel by ferry each year to see the statue and, starting in May 2019, the new Memorial of Liberty Gallery.
This establishment, which is anticipated to be “the most momentous development to Liberty Island since the Monument herself,” will enhance the significance of a visit to Lady Liberty by offering visitors “a new way to experience history.”
REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR CITYPASS!
The best way to experience New York City’s major attractions is through CityPASS; by bundling them, you may save 42 percent on entry. The Art Gallery, the Guggenheim Museum, the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial & Gallery, and the Empire State Building are among the places mentioned. And even better, some of them will give you expedited entrance if you have the pass. Win-win situation!
