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Newton, sometimes known asNewton after Blake, is a 1995 work by the sculptorEduardo Paolozzi. The large bronze sculpture is displayed on a high plinth in the piazza outside theBritish Library inLondon.
The sculpture is based onWilliam Blake's 1795 print ofNewton: Personification of Man Limited by Reason, which depicts a nudeIsaac Newton sitting on ledge beside a mossy rock face while measuring with apair of compasses ordividers. The print was intended by Blake to criticise Newton's profane knowledge, usurping the sacred knowledge and power of the creatorUrizen, with the scientist turning away from nature to focus on his books.
Paolozzi had admired Blake since viewing a large print ofNewton at theTate Gallery in the 1940s. He was also a friend ofColin St John Wilson, the architect of the British Library, since they both participated in theThis is Tomorrow exhibition at theWhitechapel Gallery in 1956. Wilson intended to site a seated sculpture at the junction of the two main axes in the piazza of his library. Paolozzi was then working on a sculpture of Newton, and he was commissioned to create the sculpture for the library. The new library was constructed from 1982 to 1999, and the sculpture was installed in 1995.
The sculpture includes Paolozzi's self-portrait as the naked Newton, measuring the universe with his dividers. The eyes were copied fromMichelangelo'sDavid. It can be interpreted as symbolising a confluence of thetwo cultures, the arts and the sciences, and illustrating how Newton changed our view of the world to one determined by mathematical laws. The sculpture makes the body resemble a mechanical object, joined with bolts at the shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles. The sculptures shows the visible seams of Paolozzi's technique of dividing his model and reassembling the pieces, for example on the head.
The final full-size sculpture stands 12 feet (3.7 m) high, and is mounted on a high plinth. The bronze was cast by theMorris Singer foundry, and funded by theFoundation for Sport and the Arts. It was included in theGrade I listing of the library, granted in 2015.
A maquette was donated by the artist to theIsaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences at theUniversity of Cambridge. A bronze model cast in 1988 "from the model made to show the Library committee", has been held by theTate Gallery since 1995.[1]
A similar sculpture by Paolozzi from 1989,Master of the Universe, is on display atModern Two (formerly the Dean Gallery), part of theScottish National Gallery Of Modern Art inEdinburgh; while another example,Concept of Newton, is inKowloon Park, Hong Kong.
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