A statue for someone famous is supposed to be an honor. In some cases, something goes horribly wrong.
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High Five: 5 statues of European celebrities that don't look quite right
A statue for someone famous is supposed to be an honor. In some cases, something goes horribly wrong.
Image: picture alliance/abaca
John Lennon
A lot of gel in his hair, and a business outfit: If this statue wasn't standing at the entrance hall of John Lennon Airport in Liverpool, hardly anybody would know who this statue is intended to represent. British artist Tom Murphy created this two-meter high bronze statue of the Beatle who was murdered in 1980.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/dpaweb/M. Rickett
Shirley Bassey
The Welsh singer gave her voice to three James Bond themes, and to honor that a statue was devoted to her in 2016 on Caernarfon Castle in Wales. Six meters high, it's an impressive work, indeed. It shows the superstar singing while holding a lance, with a heart-shaped hole in her breast. Did the 81-year old singer like it? It was never revealed; the statue only stood there for a few days.
Image: DW
Kate Moss
British artist Marc Quinn was inspired by top model Kate Moss for this statue, while a yoga teacher served as a model for the body. The 88-centimeter-tall sculpture weighs 50 kilos, and is made of pure gold. It's believed to be the biggest golden statue that the world has ever seen since the days of Ancient Egypt. It can be admired in London's British Museum.
Image: Reuters
Bud Spencer
In spite of censorship, films starring Bud Spencer were shown in formerly communist Hungary. And he's still being venerated there a lot. One year after his death, the city of Budapest even devoted a monument to him in 2017. The face of the statue doesn't much resemble Spencer's. However, the impressive size of the 2.5-meter-high statue weighing 500 kilos makes up for that.
Image: DW
Ronaldo
Few stars received as much scoff and derision as Ronaldo for this sculpture. His startled reaction as he witnessed the unveiling of the bust at the airport of his home island of Madeira went viral. It took artist Emanuel Santos a total of 15 days to create the bizarre smile and look he originally found on a rather strange photo.
Image: picture alliance/abaca
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Being famous isn't always easy. And being turned into a cult figure may even result in a lot of stress.
Paparazzi may be a pain in the neck, but at least, their pics are direct reproductions of reality. Things are more complicated when an artist feels inspired to create an artwork to represent a cult figure. A bronze sculpture of a star is usually a sure sign of the importance of their achievements. However, there are risks to being hyped. Sometimes those artworks simply don't look like the famous person they're supposed to represent.
We're used to statues of people who passed away a long time ago. There are hundreds of Napoleon statues in France and Shakespeare sculptures all over the world.
Nowadays, the big stars are rather actors and actresses or soccer champions. If the hometown of a star feels particularly connected to him or her, it is likely to devote a sculpture to its most famous son or daughter.
Several monuments have been devoted to soccer star Diego Maradona. The late British singer Amy Winehouse was immortalized in London's Camden Town; Freddy Mercury is commemorated at Lake Geneva.
The artworks devoted to stars may vary a lot in terms of resemblance to the real person. In our High Five ranking in the gallery above, we present some particularly striking examples.
