One of the most recent public memorials in London is the bronze sculpture by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005) entitled Newton, after William Blake, 1995, which stands in the piazza of the British Library just off Euston Road. It is easy to walk straight past it without even knowing it is there but worth stepping into the courtyard for a few minutes of relative peace compared to the throng of people between Kings Cross and Euston.
The inspiration
As the title suggests, the pose of Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) is lifted straight out of the 1795 print by the British visionary poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). Newton is deep in thought, crouched over a geometric construction with compass in hand. This is, however, a curious reference in that Blake was against the prevailing scientific materialism and what he saw as the enslavement of people through industrialisation.
Blake's original print has Newton at the bottom of the ocean fixated with his singular scientific point of view whilst ignoring the nature around him. But Blake himself places Newton in a posture reminiscent of The Ancient of Days (1794), or God as the Great Architect, thereby at least accepting the role of science as unveiling the structure of God's universe. Indeed, the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences acknowledges that the choice of subject matter caused some controversy, but that Paolozzi chose to focus on the fusion of British genius in the arts and sciences rather than on their contrasting philosophies – this is, after all, the British Library and not the Science Museum.
The sculptor
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi was born in Scotland of Italian parents. He was one of the founders of the British Pop Art movement and, as his reputation grew during the period from 1950 to 1970, became increasingly well known for his public works of art. His reputation as a sculptor led to Paolozzi being appointed Her Majesty's Sculptor-in-Ordinary for Scotland in 1986, a position he held till his death. He was awarded the CBE in 1968, elected to the Royal Academy in 1979 and knighted in 1989.
His influences
Paolozzi always described himself as a surrealist, but in the case of Newton there are fairly obvious cubist as well as futurist influences. The sculpture also brings to mind the work of the leading Italian futurist sculptor Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916). Sadly, Boccioni died very young, before Paolozzi was even born, but the two artists did share the friendship of the influential Parisian circle that included the leading luminary Georges Braque (1882-1963).
It is perhaps fitting that Newton should be portrayed in a style that was originally inspired by scientific advances; cubism, surrealism and futurism were the artistic expressions of new ways of thinking in mathematical physics, psychoanalysis and technology respectively. However, through his images of dreams, visions and nightmares, Blake is also recognised as a precursor to the surrealists.
The juxtaposition of Newton and Blake within one sculpture is thus able to shed light on different aspects of the human experience. This in itself is a sign of a great piece of art and a reminder to all those scholars who walk through the piazza that human knowledge is complex and often contradictory.
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