''Newton'', sometimes known as ''Newton after Blake'', is a 1995 work by the sculptor

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March ...

. The large bronze sculpture is displayed on a high plinth in the piazza outside the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The sculpture is based on

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

's 1795 print of ''Newton: Personification of Man Limited by Reason'', which depicts a naked

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, Theology, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosophy, natural philosopher"), widely ...

sitting on ledge beside a mossy rock face while measuring with a

pair of compasses A compass, more accurately known as a pair of compasses, is a technical drawing instrument that can be used for inscribing circles or arcs. As dividers, it can also be used as a tool to mark out distances, in particular, on maps. Compasses ...

dividers A caliper (British spelling also calliper, or in plurale tantum sense a pair of calipers) is a device used to measure the dimensions of an object. Many types of calipers permit reading out a measurement on a ruled scale, a dial, or a digital di ...

. The print was intended by Blake to criticise Newton's profane knowledge, usurping the sacred knowledge and power of the creator

Urizen In the mythology of William Blake, Urizen () is the embodiment of conventional reason and law. He is usually depicted as a bearded old man; he sometimes bears architect's tools, to create and constrain the universe; or nets, with which he ensna ...

, with the scientist turning away from nature to focus on his books. Paolozzi had admired Blake since viewing a large print of ''Newton'' at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in the 1940s. He was also a friend of

Colin St John Wilson Sir Colin Alexander St John ("Sandy") Wilson, FRIBA, RA, (14 March 1922 – 14 May 2007) was an English architect, lecturer and author. He spent over 30 years progressing the project to build a new British Library in London, originally planned t ...

, the architect of the British Library, since they both participated in the This is Tomorrow exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1956. Wilson intended to site a seated sculpture at the junction of the two main axes in the piazza of his library. Paolozzi was then working on a sculpture of Newton, and he was commissioned to create the sculpture for the library. The new library was constructed from 1982 to 1999, and the sculpture was installed in 1995. The sculpture includes Paolozzi's self-portrait as the naked Newton, measuring the universe with his dividers. The eyes were copied from

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

's ''

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

''. It can be interpreted as symbolising a confluence of the

two cultures "The Two Cultures" is the first part of an influential 1959 Rede Lecture by British scientist and novelist C. P. Snow which were published in book form as ''The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution'' the same year. Its thesis was that sci ...

, the arts and the sciences, and illustrating how Newton changed our view of the world to one determined by mathematical laws. The sculpture makes the body resemble a mechanical object, joined with bolts at the shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles. The sculptures shows the visible seams of Paolozzi's technique of dividing his model and reassembling the pieces, for example on the head. The final full-size sculpture stands high, and is mounted on a high plinth. The bronze was cast by the

Morris Singer Morris Singer is a British art foundry, recognised as the oldest fine art foundry in the world. Its predecessor, Singer was established in 1848 in Frome, Somerset, by John Webb Singer, as the Frome Art Metal Works. The Singer Art Foundry was famou ...

foundry; it was funded by the Foundation for Sport and the Arts. It was included in the Grade I listing of the library, granted in 2015. A maquette was donated by the artist to the

Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences is an international research institute for mathematics and its many applications at the University of Cambridge. It is named after one of the university's most illustrious figures, the mathemat ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. A bronze model cast in 1988 "from the model made to show the Library committee", has been held by the

since 1995.Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, ''Newton'', 1988
Tate Gallery A similar sculpture from 1989, ''Master of the Universe'', is at the

Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is part of the National Galleries of Scotland, which are based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The National Gallery of Modern Art houses the collection of modern and contemporary art dating from about 1900 to th ...

in Edinburgh, with another example in Hong Kong.

Gallery

File:Dean Gallery Paolozzi 03.jpg, Dean Gallery, Edinburgh/Scotland File:HK KlnPark ConceptOfNewton.JPG, Hong Kong, Kowloon Park

References

The British Library, piazza, boundary wall and railings to Ossulston Street, Euston Road and Midland Road
National Heritage List for England, Historic England
Statue: British Library – ''Newton''
London Remembers
Paolozzi’s ''Newton'', British Library
Tate Gallery
Paolozzi's Sculpture of Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences
''Eduardo Paolozzi, Master of the Universe'' (1989)
National Galleries Scotland

Ornamental Passions
''Blake 2.0: William Blake in Twentieth-Century Art, Music and Culture''
edited by Steve Clark, T. Connolly, Jason Whittaker
''The Architecture of the British Library at St. Pancras''
Roger Stonehouse, Gerhard Stromberg, p. 175 {{coord, 51.5290, -0.1276, display=title 1995 sculptures Bronze sculptures in England Outdoor sculptures in London Statues in London Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Cultural depictions of Isaac Newton British Library 1995 in England Adaptations of works by William Blake