The Duke of Wellington
Baron Carlo Marochetti (1805-1867)
Unveiled 1844
Bronze on Peterhead granite pedestal, with bronze narrative reliefs
Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow
The fund for this monument was "by far the largest, and most speedily gathered, private subscription for any monument in Glasgow in the nineteenth century" (McKenzie 337). Among the candidates for the commission were John Steell, John Gibson and Richard Westmacott, so its award to Marochetti, who had been involved in the design of Napoleon's mausoleum at the Paris Invalides, was highly controversial. Crowds gathered for the unveiling, no doubt expecting to see something more theatrical; but many were impressed” by the "great dignity and restraint" of the monument (McKenzie 338). The Queen too was impressed when she visited Glasgow in 1849 (see the relief on Marochetti's monument to Queen Victoria in nearby George Square), and further commissions followed. [continued below]
Click on image to enlarge it
Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee