Top 10 Statues worldwide

top 10 statues worldwide
Top 10 statues worldwide

Top 10 Statues Worldwide | Let’s go sculpture hunting! Taking their age and size into consideration these are the Top 10 Statues Worldwide – most amazing, most realistic! Half of them you will be able to catch within one vacation in Middle Europe. Your journey would include Berlin, Rome, Florence and Paris. But the remaining five statues really let your travel expenses skyrock, since you need to make it to New York, Cairo, Easter Islands, Volgograd and Xi’an …

Top 10 Statues Worldwide: Sphinx

by Pharaoh Khafre = THE OLDEST
Year of Make: 2500 BC | Material: Stone | Location: Giza, Egypt

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Sphinx
Top 10 Statues Worldwide Sphinx in Egypt

The creator of the great Sphinx statue is not known clearly. However, there are reports that it was constructed in about 2500 BC by Pharaoh Khafre, who was also believed to have built the second pyramid located at Giza. The face model which the Sphinx represents is also not known. Located at the Giza plateau near Cairo, the “Sphinx” is among the oldest statues that still exist. Though considerably small in size compared to the surrounding pyramids, The Great Sphinx is the world’s biggest monolith statue.


Nefertiti

by Thutmose = THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
Year of Make: 1345 BC | Material: Limestone/Stucco | Location: Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Nefertiti
Top 10 Statues Worldwide – Nefertiti from Egypt in Berlin

Nefertiti’s Bust is so famous that it became one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt. This masterpiece is attributed to the Egyptian sculptor Thutmose, because it was found in his workshop in 1912 by German archeologists. What’s so special about it? The bust is notable for exemplifying the highly educated understanding Ancient Egyptians had regarding realistic facial proportions. Always keep in mind: it was made 3,300 years ago. Mankind probably has not reached this level of skill before, and only recently came close to it again with one of Michelangelo’s statues: David.

The Nefertiti bust shows the Royal wife of Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. The work is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by sculptor Thutmose, because it was found in his workshop in Amarna, Egypt. Owing to the work, Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women of the ancient world, and an icon of feminine beauty. A German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered the Nefertiti bust in 1912. It has been kept at various locations in Germany since its discovery, including the cellar of a bank, a salt mine in Merkers-Kieselbach, the Dahlem museum, the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg and the Altes Museum. It is currently on display at the Neues Museum in Berlin, where it was originally displayed before World War II.

The Nefertiti bust is a cultural symbol of Berlin as well as ancient Egypt. Today Nefertiti herself has become an icon too. She is widely known for her beauty and versatility. It has also been the subject of an intense arguments between Egypt and Germany over Egyptian demands for its repatriation. But with the current threats of IS to destroy ancient art in Egypt one should be grateful to know she is save in Berlin.


Venus de Milo

by Alezandros of Antioch = THE BROKEN
Year of Make: 100 BC | Material: Marble | Location: Louvre in Paris, France

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Venus de Milo
Top 10 Statues Worldwide Venus de Milo from Greece, in Paris

Based on the information found on the sculpture’s base, Venus de Milo was initially thought to have been shaped by Greek artist Alexandros from Antioch. At first, it was erroneously credited to the chief sculptor Praxiteles. What has surprised many is the allegations that it was found inadvertently in a farmer’s field. Venus de Milo artifact was shaped between 100 and 130 BC. The statue is currently displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The standing marble structure of 2.03 meters high is believed to represent Aphrodite, Greek beauty and Goddess of Love. Unfortunately the original base and arms have been lost. But the rest still makes it into Sculpture Hunter’s Top 10. The statue is named after the Greek island of Milos, where it was discovered.


Moai

by Polynesian Colonizers = THE MOST REMOTE
Years of Make: 1250-1500 | Material: Stone | Location: Easter Island, Chile

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Moai
Top 10 Statues Worldwide Moai in Chile

The world famous sculptures Moai are believed to be a representation of deceased ancestors as well as the incarnation of powerful living of the previous chiefs. By the time the Europeans visited the land in the early 19th century, they were still standing but some have been cast down as clans clashed.

What’s so special about it? These guys are freaking heavy and hard to move for a 15th century remote tribe. The tallest of them is called “Paro” -> 10 meters high. The dude weights 75,000kg. But the heaviest of all weights astonishing 86,000kg. An unfinished version – Moai Te Tokanga – was supposed to become 21.65m in height. Unfortunately his guy has never been completely carved out of its rock at Mount Raraku. The Rakaku volcano was turned into some kind of Moai factory by Polynesion colonizers. This location is the heart of ancient Rapa Nui society with hundreds of abandoned Moais scattered around. Visitors can see amazing demonstrations of skills in statue carving. There are approximately 400 Moai statues left. Of those, only half are actually finished. The rest never reached completion.


Terracotta Army

by Chinese government laborers, craftsmen = THE CRAZIEST
Year of Make: 246 BC | Material: Terracotta | Location: Lintong District, Xi’an, Shaanxi Provence, China

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Terracotta Army
Top 10 Statues Worldwide: Terracotta Army in China.

It was THE discovery of the 20th century: in 1974 local Chinese farmers stumbled upon an amazing army of terracotta soldiers. It is believed to have been constructed by approx. 700,000 workers dating back to the end of the 3rd century BC. This army is a collection of statues representing the forces of China’s 1st emperor Qin Shi Huang. All statues are of different heights – representative of their roles in the army, including chariots, warriors and horses. What we have here is most likely a form of funerary art of ancient China in which the King wished to continue his reign in his afterlife.

What’s so special about it? Please go ahead and finance the construction of 8,000 terracotta soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses – each looking different. And make sure they last 2000 years without falling apart. The level of craziness of Qin Shi Huang might only be topped by those three giant Pyramids in Egypt (Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu), which is another spectacular example of wasted human energy. China’s Terracotta Army is part of a much larger necropolis, covering a vast area surrounding the first emperor’s tomb mound. The earthen tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape, with Qin Shi Huang’s necropolis complex constructed as a microcosm of his imperial palace or compound.

Until today his warriors stand guard to the east of the tomb. It consists of several offices, halls, stables, and other structures placed around the tomb mound, which is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances. Up to 5 metres of reddish and soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction, but archaeologists found evidence of earlier disturbances at the site. During the excavations they found several graves dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, where diggers had apparently struck terracotta fragments, discarded as worthless and used it along with soil to back fill the excavations.


Pieta

by Michelangelo = THE MOST REALISTIC
Year of Make: 1499 | Material: Marble | Location: St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Pieta
Top 10 Statues Worldwide Pieta in Italy

Pieta is an extraordinary marble structure shaped up by Michelangelo Buonarroti. It is a representation of Jesus Christ in the arms of Mary, his mother. This is one of the most remarkable sculptures that brought Michelangelo to light. During this time, Michelangelo was barely 20 years old when he was asked to come up with a sculpture of Virgin Mary with her son in her arms. With nearly 2 years, Michelangelo managed to explore the utmost of his talent as well as the potential of the single slab of marble and thus brought one of the most famous sculptures to this world.


David

by Michelangelo = THE PERFECT
Year of Make: 1504 | Material: Marble | Location: Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy

Top 10 Statues Worldwide David
Top 10 Statues Worldwide: Michelangelo’s David in Florence, Italy.

David is an outstanding masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo. It’s a 5.17m marble statue of a standing male nude, representing the Biblical hero David – a favoured subject in the art of medieval Florence. Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was placed instead in a public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it was unveiled on September 8, 1504.

What’s so special about it? The shape of this statue is as close as one can get with a marble copy of a human body. If you are looking the most realistic proportions, visit this statue. Because of the nature of hero David, the statue came to symbolize the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the hegemony of the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned towards Rome. The statue was moved to the Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence, in 1873.


The Kiss

by Auguste Rodin = THE EROTIC
Year of Make: 1882 | Material: Marble | Location: Musee Rodin in Paris, France

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Rodin The Kiss
Top 10 Statues Worldwide Rodin The Kiss, Paris

“The Kiss” was originally titled “Francesca da Rimini”, as it depicts the 13th-century Italian noblewoman immortalised in Dante’s Inferno (Circle 2, Canto 5) who falls in love with her husband Giovanni Malatesta’s younger brother Paolo. Having fallen in love while reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, the couple are discovered and killed by Francesca’s husband. In the sculpture, the book can be seen in Paolo’s hand. The lovers’ lips do not actually touch in the sculpture, suggesting that they were interrupted and met their demise without their lips ever having touched. When critics first saw the sculpture in 1887, they suggested the less specific title “Le Baiser” (English: The Kiss).

Rodin indicated that his approach to sculpting women was of homage to them and their beautiful bodies, not just submitting to men but as full partners in ardor. The consequent eroticism in the sculpture made it controversial for the mob. A bronze version of The Kiss was sent for display at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The sculpture was considered unsuitable for general display and relegated to an inner chamber with admission only by personal application. Today we might laugh about it, but yes: ordinary people were that stupid those days, and actually still are today. In the 21st century they just hide it a bit better.


Statue of Liberty

by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel = THE FREE
Year of Make: 1884 | Material: Copper | Location: Liberty Island, New York, United States

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Liberty Statue
Top 10 Statues Worldwide: Statue of Liberty, New York.

Essentially, it was a gift of the French people to celebrate the centenary of the United States Declaration of Independence signing. Standing on Liberty Island, it is among the most famous sculptures and symbols on this planet. The statue shows a woman in a stola, wearing sandals and a shiny crown. The woman is trampling a loose chain and has a torch in her right hand raised high. She is also holding a tabula ansata tablet. This robed female figure represents Libertas – Roman Goddess of Liberty. Until today the Statue of Liberty is the first thing in sight for millions of immigrants who come to the United States by ship.


The Motherland Calls

by Yevgeny Vuchetich, Nikolai Nikitin = YOUNGEST AND LARGEST
Year of Make: 1967 | Material: Concrete | Location: Volgograd, Russia

Top 10 Statues Worldwide Stalingrad Motherland Calls
Top 10 Statues Worldwide – Stalingrad: Motherland Calls, Russia.

The Motherland Calls statue is located in Volgograd (formerly known as Stalingrad) commemorating the epic battle and deciding milestone in World War II. With 85m in height it is the largest sculpture in our Top 10 list, followed by Libertas in New York with 46m. Compared with later higher statues which are all Buddhas, Motherland Calls is significantly more complex from an engineering point of view, due to its characteristic posture with a sword raised high in the right hand and the left hand extended in a calling gesture. 200 steps, symbolizing the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad lead from the bottom of the hill to the monument.

The Battle of Stalingrad lastet 5 months (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943). It is regarded as the single largest (2.2 million personnel) and bloodiest (2 million wounded, killed, captured) battles in the history of warfare. Heavy losses inflicted on the German “Wehrmacht” made it arguably the most strategically decisive battle of the whole war. It became the turning point. German forces never regained initiative in the East again, plus they lost the West because of trying to withdrew vast military forces from the West to replace their losses in the East. Until today no normal thinking human understands the reason why Germans did try to beat the Russians in Stalingrad – a place 2,700 km away from Berlin. There is no acceptable reason to try that. Same is true for Japanese troops in Thailand or Darwin, U.S. troops in Vietnam or Iraq.


Top 10 Statues Worldwide. By Chili and Churp | © International Destinations | Check out more Travel Top Lists here.