Statues are one of the art forms that humanity has developed in the prehistoric time. The oldest known statue is the Lion man from the Swabian Alps in Germany. It is maybe 30000-40000 years old. The ancient Seven Wonders of the World included two statues: the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and The Colossus of Rhodes.
Today, statues have been found all over the world representing ancient and present religions, culture, practice and relation among the different nation.
The well-known statues in our list is an attempt to grow your fascination for statues.
10 World Famous Statues:
10. Little Mermaid
Based on the fairy tale, the statue of The Little Mermaid sits on a rock in the Copenhagen harbor at Langelinie in Denmark. It’s a bronze statue depicting a mermaid. The Little Mermaid statue is only 1.25 meters high and weighs around 175 kg. It was designed by Edvard Eriksen.
The statue was built in 1913 to celebrate a play of the Little Mermaid by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson. For vandals and political activities, the poor lady had lost her head. Several visitors visiting for the first time are often astonished by the relatively small size of the statue.
9. Lions of Delos
The island of Delos, situated near Mykonos is famous for mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. Even before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium.
The Terrace of the Lions was dedicated to Apollo (the god of music) by the people of Naxos shortly before 600 BC. It was originally 9 to 12 marble guardian lions along the Sacred Way. But Only 5 lions have been survived. In 1999, the weather-battered originals were moved to the Archaeological Museum of Delos.
8. Mother Russia Statue
Commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad, The Mother Russia statue, also called The Motherland Calls, which is actually a famous statue in Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Russia. It was the tallest sculpture in the world at the time of its building. Tourist around the world come visit at least for once while traveling destinations in Russia.
The memorial was dedicated in 1967, measuring 85 meters from the tip of its sword to the top of the plinth. Two hundred steps symbolize the 200 long days of the Battle of Stalingrad, lead from the bottom of the hill to the monument. It is the tallest statue of a woman in the world which is not relating to religion.
7. Olmec Heads
Beginning around 1400 to 1200 BC, The ancient Olmec civilization had been center around the southern Gulf coast of Mexico. It was an ancient Pre-Columbian civilization. Quite influential to the later developed civilization Mayan and Aztecs, the most Olmec civilization is recognized for their artwork “The enormous helmeted heads”.
These heads are portraits of rulers, probably dressed as ballplayers. Every head is nonidentical and the headdresses are decorated with different elements.17 colossal heads have been unearthed. The large head weighs between 25 and 55 tons. this is our seventh selection as the world famous statues.
6. Mount Nemrut
40 km north of Katha, near Adiyaman Mount Nemrut, is a 2,134 meter (7,001 ft) high mountain in southeastern Turkey. Famous King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built on the mountain top a tomb-sanctuary bounded by huge statues (26–30 ft high) of himself, two eagles, two lions, and various Greek, and Persian gods.
In 62 BC. The statues were once posited but later the heads collapsed from bodies lay scattered throughout the site. The mount Nemrut is a testimony of blending cultures like Armenian, Greek, and Persian. Nemrut was named as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
5. David Statue
The statue of David is a wonder of Renaissance sculpture sculpted by great Italian sculptor Michelangelo. Created from 1501 to 1504, the 5.17 meter (17 ft) marble statue represents the Biblical Prophet David, a favored subject in the art of Florence in that time. It was a nude depiction of David.
The depiction of David by Michelangelo is quite exceptional because it portraits David before the fight contemplating the battle yet to come not after his usual heroic portrait after his victory over Goliath.
The famous statue was moved in 1873 to the Academia Gallery in Florence in Italy, where it attracts many visitors. The statue symbolized the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence.
4. Great Sphinx
The largest monolith statue in the world, The Great Sphinx locates at the Giza Plateau near Cairo in Egypt. It is one of the largest and oldest statues in the world. Depicted based on mythological creature Sphinx (with a lion’s body and a human head), the statue is always surprising visitors with its colossal craft work.
It is believed that it had been built during the reign of Pharaoh Khafre approximately 2500 BC. The face of the Sphinx represents the face of the Pharaoh Khafre. It’s one of the most visited and famous destinations in Egypt.
3. Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is unarguably one of the important national symbols of the United States of America. The statue was a gift from the people of France to celebrate the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. It is on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.
It represents a colossal figure of a woman wearing a stola, a radiant crown and sandals, trampling a broken chain, carrying a torch in her raised right hand and a tabula ansata tablet.
The statue was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The construction of the statue was completed in France in July 1884 and arrived in New York the following year. It attracts millions of tourists every year.
2. Christ the Redeemer
Created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and engineered by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa in collaboration with the French engineer Albert Caquot, Christ the Redeemer is a symbol of beauty and uniqueness. It is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Situated at the peak of the 700 meters (2,300 ft) Corcovado Mountain, it provides a wide angle view from the interior of Guanabara Bay to the north, Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas to the south.
It is 39.6 meters (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 meters (31 ft) pedestal, and 30 meters (98 ft) wide. Although a symbol of Christianity, nowadays the famous statue has become an icon of Brazil.
The world wonder moai are monolithic statues situated in Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island. This island surprisingly one of the most isolated islands on Earth. The statues were carved by the Rapa Nui people between the year 1250 AD and 1500 CE. Moai represented the deceased ancestors as well as regarded as the embodiment of a powerful living or former chiefs.
It was the symbol of authority and power. The tallest Moai erected named Paro, was almost 10 meters (33 ft) high and weighed 75 tons. When Europeans first visited the island, the statues were still standing but most would be cast down during later conflicts between different clans. Now about 50 Moai have been re-erected on Easter Island and other museums.