Statues - Hither & Thither

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Old Royal Naval College (SE10, Greenwich)

King George II

George Augustus
Hannover 1683 - London 1760
King of Great Britain, 1727-1760
(Wikipedia)

John Michael Rysbrack
1735

Description

Marble statue of King George II in the costume of a Roman emperor, holding an orb and sceptre.

Inscription(s)

Hic ames dici Pater atq Princeps

[the royal standard]

Imperium Pelagi

Fessos tuto placidissima portu
Accipit

Principi Potentissimo
GEORGIO Secundo
Britanniarum Regi
Cujus Auspiciis et Patrocinio
Augustissimum Hoc Hospitium
Ad Sublevandos Militantium in Classe Emeritorium
Labores a Regis Ipsius Antecessoribus Fundatum
JOHANNES JENNINGS Eques
Ejusdem Hospitii Præfectus
Iconem Hanc pro debita sua
Erga Principem Reverentia
Et Patriam Charitate
Posunt

Anno Domini
MDCCXXXV

Hic Requies Senecta
His Modus lasso Maris et Viarum
Militariæq.

Here may you love...
to be called father and chief
[Horace, Ode 1.2]

"Imperium pelagi" (the empire of the sea)
is the title of a poem written
on the occasion of George II's return

This very quiet place receives
the weary into safe anchorage
[Vergil Aeneis III, 78-79]

Let this place be rest for my old age,
let it be the end to me,
tired of the sea and ways of war
[adapted from Horace]

Sculptor

Johannes Michel or John Michael Rysbrack, original name Jan Michiel Rijsbrack (Antwerpen 1694 - 1770), Flemish-English sculptor, working since 1720 in London (Wikipedia).

London - King George II

Sources & Information

Wikipedia, List of public art in Greenwich.
George L. Gomme, Return of outdoor memorials in London (London: City Council, 1910) (through Internet Archive).
John Blackwood, London's Immortals: The Complete Outdoor Commemorative Statues (London: Savoy, 1989), p. 40-41.
Andrew Kershman, London's Monuments (London: Metro Publ., 2013), p. 330-331.
Peter Matthews, London's Statues and Monuments (Botley: Shire, 2012), p. 198-199.
Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, National Recording Project Database.

Location (N 51°29'1" - W 0°0'21")

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Item Code: gblo181; Photograph: 22 October 2015
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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