More from the opening of the new Cathedral Gardens in Leicester by our friend Rosalind Broomhall.  The photo of the statue with its new sword is by Jo Mungovin. Thank you to both of you!

Richard III statue. Commissioned by the Richard III Society and sculpted by James Butler RA.
This much loved bronze statue has been moved from its previous home in Castle Gardens to the newly refurbished Cathedral Gardens and James Butler was on hand to talk about it.

Mr Butler’s vision was to sculpt Richard ‘the man’ and to that end, after consultation with the Richard III Society, Richard’s arms were left free of armour and Richard depicted as strong, energetic and courageous. He holds his crown as though picked from the battlefield after losing his helmet and displayed to portray his ambition – to fight for his kingdom. He stands on a plinth above us to drive home that point. (The aggregate used for the plinth is, by the way, from a quarry near Bosworth.) The sword has been newly restored after the statue lived for many years with a dagger – the result of the previous sword being stolen (and recast) 6 times. It portrays a hand-and-a-half sword and has been strengthened and thickened from the original.

Tongue-in-cheek, Mr Butler suggested a very sharp edge and an articulated elbow to deter vandals. (Vandalism is, apparently, an all too common problem with public art.) As Richard would have been riding a horse, his inner leg would have been armour free and the rest of his armour, custom made in Germany or Italy, would have had sliding rivets allowing for freedom of movement.

The statue was unveiled in Castle Gardens in 1980 by Princess Alice of Gloucester and as one observer commented, “It rocks!”

Tags: Art, Leicester, Richard III