1. The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen, Denmark: hard to imagine a statue which could ever replace the Little Mermaid in the history of Denmark, and it is no wonder that this particular work of art is still so popular. Although rather small comparing it to other much larger statues - as it is only 1.25 meters high, a little disapointing when you first come face to face with it - the finesse of the lines, the care with which it was made, the fragility and sadness of the character are simply marvelous. A little over a century old (it was installed in 1913) it has been several times the target of art vandals, but as the symbol of the city of Denmark it is here to stay and was several times restored. Perhaps in the near future the statue will be moved somewhere further from the shore, but in the meantime you can still enjoy it's beauty if you ever come to Denmark. 2. The Statue of Liberty, New York, USA: by far the most iconic work of art when it comes to the USA and the American Dream, and surely those who haven't seen it yet are familiar with it's posture and shape from countless movies and photographs. An impressive monument, huge in size and even larger as a symbol of freedom, it was actually offered as a gift from the people of France, and it's voyage over the ocean and installment were in themselves fascinating stories. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the statue was erected here, on the Libery Island, and from 1886 till today is for those who come here the
3. Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: it simply dominates the whole city and was the most inspired project, which simply changed the whole appearance of Rio de Janeiro and quickly became a tourist attraction and a symbol for the country. It is 130 feet tall and 98 ft wide, one of the largest statues of Christ in the world, and in it's simplicity and graceful, long lines it is both impressive and somewhat vulnerable and almost kind, if you could say that about a huge statue. It took several years for it to be completed, almost a decade, and it was finally finished in 1931, and for fans of Art Deco it remains one of the masterpieces. You might think that looking at images is impressive enough, yet once you are before it Christ the Redeemer is simply breathtaking. 4. The Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt: if you had to chose only one of the monuments which survived from ancient times this symbol of Ancient Egypt will most likely be the choice, and a right one it would be. Yet, the millenia haven't been kind to it and it takes a little imagination to phantasize about how the Sphinx originally looked, yet it is still the largest monolith statue. Who built it, which were the real techniques used, was it meant to have simply a decorative role or did it mean much more then, these are just a few of the questions about the Sphinx that have been asked over time, and still there are no sure answers. Yet it remains a wonderful enigma and a work of art which you can not simply put a price on.
5. The David Statue, Florence, Italy: do you want a masterpiece of Renaissance? When it comes to statues David, the work created by Michelangelo in 1501-1504, is by far the best known and the most admired today, as not only it hasn't lost any of it's charm and amazing craftmanship, but it still attracts every year tens of thousands of art lovers who want to see one of the most famous statues in history. You can admire it at the Accademia Gallery in Florence, and you can only think about the fact that it is already several centuries old, and still so beautiful.
Photo: wikipedia.org,
