“Edmund Burke,” by John Henry Foley (1818-1874), R. A.

Edmund Burke

John Henry Foley (1818-1874), R. A.

1868

Bronze

In front of the main entrance of Trinity College, Dublin

[Detail (opens in new window)]

Edmund Burke, the politician, philosopher and author, is seen here at his staunch and confident best: "[t]hroughout his life Burke's personal magnetism was an acknowledged, even overpowering force" (Langford). This is one of the two bronze statues” by Foley on the lawns outside the main entrance of Trinity College, Dublin, the other being that of Burke's fellow-alumnus Oliver Goldsmith.

Photograph, caption, and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2009

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL.]

According to Benedict Read, the universities "were prominent institutions in the patronage of sculptures. This could be simply a matter of placing a professor on record with a bust, or it could be a more substantial simulacrum of a noted alumnus or official" (123). Other fine sculptures grace the grounds, including (from a rather later period), Goscombe John's memorial to William Lecky, MP looking across the College's Parliament Square.

Perhaps Foley's best-known work in Dublin is the O'Connell Monument in O'Connell Street, Dublin, completed after his death” by the young Thomas Brock.

Bibliography

Langford, Peter. "Burke, Edmund (1729/30-1797)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. Viewed 27 July 2009.

Read, Benedict. Victorian Sculpture. New Haven & London: Yale Univeristy Press, 1982.

Last modified 27 July 2009