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Model of a proposed statue of Britannia
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Model of a proposed statue of Britannia. SM M1079. ©Sir John Soane's Museum, London. Photo: John Bridges
John Flaxman RA (1755 - 1826), sculptor
Model of a proposed statue of Britannia
Plaster
Height: 154.9cm
Museum number: M1079
On display: Crypt
All spaces are in No. 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields unless identified as in No. 12, Soane's first house.
For tours https://www.soane.org/your-visit
Curatorial note
In 1799, the year after Nelson’s famous victory at the battle of the Nile, the sculptor John Flaxman designed a colossal 230 foot high statue of Britannia intended to stand on Greenwich Hill as a national monument to British naval prowess. It was Soane’s former master George Dance the Younger who is supposed to have suggested the site of Greenwich Hill to Flaxman. Flaxman argued for the realisation of his idea in a pamphlet with illustrations engraved by William Blake, but what would have been a stupendous national monument remained unexecuted. This model of the statue was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1801.
Literature
Helen Dorey ‘Soane and Flaxman’ in Flaxman: Master of the Purest Line, Exhibition Catalogue, Sir John Soane’s Museum 2003
Associated items
Soane collections online is being continually updated. If you wish to find out more or if you have any further information about this object please contact us: worksofart@soane.org.uk