Left: Whole monument. Right: Closer view of the statue
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, civil engineer (1806-1859), by Baron Carlo Marochetti (1805-1867). It was completed in 1861, but not installed until 1877, so Marochetti never saw its final effect. This impressive monument consists of a bronze statue elevated on a Portland stone pedestal, and presented in front of a curving Portland stone surround, in an ensemble designed by Richard Norman Shaw.
Two more views of the statue.
The monument stands at the edge of Temple Place, beside London's Victoria Embankment which Brunel planned and supervised: Brunel, looking much taller than he did in real life, seems to be standing back and scrutinizing his work, with his drawing instruments in his hands.
A detail of the carved stone work can be seen on the right. The monument is (perhaps rather meanly, in view of the importance of Brunel, the accomplished sculptural and architectural work, and the prominent position) only Grade II listed.
Links to related material
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel
- Civil Engineering in the Victorian Age
- Engineering Wonders of the Victorian Age
Photographs by Jacqueline Banerjee and Robert Freidus, with text by Banerjee. You may use these images 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 in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Bullus, Claire, and Ronald Asprey. Statues of London. London & New York, Merrell, 2009. [Review.
Statue of I.K. Brunel. Hisotric England. Web. 21 June 2022.
Weinreb, Ben and Christopher Hibbert, eds. The London Encyclopaedia. London: Macmillan, rev. ed. 1992.
Created 23 July 2007
last modified 21 June 2022