Goetze Grave In Paddington Cemetery

The Goetze Grave in Paddington Cemetery is a memorial created around 1911 by the monumental masons Kelly, featuring figural elements attributed to the sculptor Alfred Gilbert. The memorial consists of a pink granite Celtic cross on a two-stage base, accompanied by a pair of coped ledgers in front, all set within a granite kerb with cast bronze railings. The center of the cross showcases a high relief depiction of a pair of angels with entwined wings, carrying a naked figure that represents the soul. The railings are adorned with curving arabesque designs, with circles at the center of each face. At the corners, square colonnettes support allegorical cowled figures that symbolize Christian Virtues.

This memorial honors James Goetze, who died in 1877, and his wife Rosina, who died in 1911. It was erected by their son, Sigismund Goetze, a painter and patron who lived from 1866 to 1939. Sigismund was an associate of Alfred Gilbert, who was the leading sculptor of the time, and the allegorical figures on the memorial are reminiscent of Gilbert's earlier work for the memorial candlestick to Lord Arthur Russell in Chenies, Buckinghamshire, created between 1892 and 1900. The Goetze Grave is considered an outstanding example of outdoor funerary sculpture from its period, strongly linked to Gilbert's artistic style.