- From creepy to bizarre to funny, here’s a sculpture for everybody.
Michelangelo’s David, the Statue of Liberty, Rodin’s The Thinker… All of these sculptures are famous for a reason, but wouldn’t you sometimes want to see something different?
History is chock-full of more obscure sculptors who created stunning but sadly unknown works of art. We figured we’d take this opportunity to highlight some of them.
Particularly the stranger examples.
Here are nine sculptures from around the world that are unusual for one reason or another.
9. The Weight of Thought
The Weight of Thought is a series of four bronze sculptures created by Belgian artist Thomas Leeroy in 2009. Each of the statues depicts a man unable to support his enormously oversized head.
The sculptures were inspired by Leeroy’s frustration with having too many ideas to focus on only one. Since they were revealed to the public, however, they have taken on a memetic life of their own social media.
Leeroy is fine with that, though — after all, it just means people found something relatable in his work. And let’s face it, we’ve all had days when we feel like this.
8. Gallos
Gallos (the Cornish word for “power”) is a ghostly statue standing on the shores of the North Sea in Tintagel, southwestern England. It depicts a crowned king leaning on his sword, with large gaps allowing viewers to see the landscape behind him.
The sculpture is often called the “King Arthur Statue.” However, officially, it doesn’t depict any specific person.
But if you consider that Tintagel Castle near the statue was supposedly once owned by King Arthur’s father and the compass located by the statue points to several noteworthy Arthurian locations, can you blame anyone for thinking the king might be Arthur?
7. Neptuno de Melenara
Neptuno de Melenara is an oceanic statue on Melenara beach on the island of Gran Canaria. Sculpted by Luis Arencibia in 1975, it depicts the Roman sea god Neptune, also known as Poseidon in Greece, standing on a small hunk of rock in the sea.
The sculpture pays homage to the town of Melenara’s strong connection to the sea, due to its long history of fishing and sailing. It sure is a fitting statue — when Atlantic storms churn the sea, it really looks like Neptune decided to rise up from the abyss.
6. Christ of the Abyss
Speaking of deities and the abyss, you might be in for a surprise if you go diving in the Mediterranean by the town of San Fruttuoso in Italy. After all, you might come face to face with Jesus himself.
Christ of the Abyss is an eight-foot-tall bronze sculpture sitting 56 feet below the surface. Sunk under the waves in 1956, it’s dedicated to the memory of Duilio Marcante, the first Italian to drown while using scuba gear in 1947.
Being underwater isn’t easy for a statue, though. The underwater Christ has been hauled to the surface many times for repairs due to corrosion damage and excess buildup of crustaceans.
5. The Kiss of Death
The Kiss of Death is a funerary sculpture that’s part of the tomb of Spanish textile manufacturer Josep Soler. This grim sculpture is remarkable for two reasons.
First of all, it’s nothing short of a masterpiece. The limp male figure and the winged skeleton kissing are sculpted in stunning detail.
Second, it’s a very fitting work of art to accompany a tomb. That said, maybe Soler’s message of “you’re next” could’ve been a little less on the nose.
4. Apennine Colossus
The Apennine Colossus is a huge, 36-foot-tall stone sculpture sitting by a now-dried pool in Vaglia, Italy. It depicts an old, bearded man with stalactites growing off his body, representing the Apennine mountains.
Seeing the sculpture, you might think it’s a fairly recent creation. Granted, it does have some elements that seem quite modern.
But you’d be very wrong. The Apennine Colossus is nearly 450 years old, having been sculpted in the late 1580s by the Flemish artist Jean de Boulogne.
3. The Statue of Unity
If you’re traveling anywhere near the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, India, you can’t miss it. That’s because it’s the tallest statue anywhere in the world.
Depicting Indian politician and independence activist Vallabhai Patel, this enormous sculpture towers over the surrounding landscape. With its 190-foot-tall base counted in, Patel’s image rises to 790 feet.
The statue is so massive that it houses an entire museum dedicated to Patel’s life.
2. Tombili
Tombili isn’t the largest, the best-sculpted, or the most impressive statue in the world. But it just might be one of the most adorable.
The bronze sculpture in the Turkish capital of Istanbul depicts a beloved street cat, Tombili (“chubby” in Turkish). He was famous both locally and on the internet for his habit of leaning against a set of stairs while people-watching — just like a person might do.
After Tombili died in 2016, the locals successfully petitioned for a small statue to be placed in his memory where the real cat once sat. Somebody stole the statue shortly after it was installed but, fortunately, the thief returned it a couple of days later.
1. The Grave of Victor Noir
Victor Noir was a French journalist who was shot dead by Prince Pierre Bonaparte following a dispute over a duel (that Noir wasn’t part of). His grave features a life-sized depiction of the journalist lying dead on the ground.
But for some reason, the sculptor, Jules Dalou, decided to give Noir a… Fairly sizable bulge in his pants.
Because of that, however, the grave has become a pilgrimage site for women looking to conceive a child. The bronze sculpture’s nose and lips are free of corrosion due to women kissing them, while his bulging crotch is shiny due to constant rubbing.
In 2004, authorities put a fence around the grave to prevent further damage to the sculpture. However, the women of Paris protested to such a degree that the fence was taken down.
We can’t help but wonder if Noir was as big of a hit with the ladies in his life.