Jupiter Statue In The Botanical Gardens

ROYAL VICTORIA PARK 656-1/28/1432 (South side) Jupiter Statue in the Botanical Gardens

(Formerly Listed as: VICTORIA PARK Jupiter Head) 05/08/75 II*

Colossal bust of Jupiter, on plinth and pedestal. Bust of 1835-1838 by John Osborne (d.1838); plinth of 1861, designed by James Wilson and carved by H Treasure. Limestone bust of Jupiter, almost 1m high, showing a bearded man, hair tied up with fillets, shoulders bare; set on stepped, south-facing plinth approx. 6m high and 1.5m square at base, with keystone motif to centre. No inscription. HISTORY: Osborne was a mason of humble birth, who trained in John Bacon junior's studio. He carved the head of Jupiter, as well as one of the Goddess of Sculpture, after his arrival in Bath: it weighed 6 tons and prompted Walter Savage Landor to remark that "nothing of Michael Angelo's is nobler and nothing of Thorwaldsen's purer. It is colossal." They failed to make Osborne's reputation and formed his destitute widow's only assets on his death. Purchased by Corporation of Bath for £100, Thomas Barker seems to have designed plinths, for which the foundation stones were laid on 9th September 1839 (re Whalley). However, not until Alderman Bush employed James Wilson in 1861 to design a new pedestal was the whole monument erected. This is a remarkable piece of public sculpture, embodying the Romantic creative instinct, and a rare example of colossal Neo-classical sculpture. It is also notable for being executed in Bath stone: demonstration that this material could be safely employed for monumental purposes. Victoria Park was laid out in 1830 on the former Barton Fields, an area of common land and was opened by the Duchess of Kent with her daughter, Princess Victoria, on October 23rd 1830. It was the country's first municipal park. The bust lies within a former quarry to the north-west of the park, laid out by Sir Jerom Murch. SOURCES: Rupert Gunnis, 'Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851' (Revised ed. 1964), 284; R. Whalley, 'The Royal Victoria Park', in Bath History (1994), 147-169. Listing NGR: ST7391465584