Paul DiPasquale (1952 - ), "Neptune", 2005, colossal bronze sculpture and base, Virginia Beach, VA, oceanfront and 31st Street. — OGCMAPoseidon2.0011_DiPasquale.
Poseidon the Earthshaker commanded the earth beneath the Greeks' feet and he also ruled the seas. Odysseus ran afoul of Poseidon's pervasive dominion and suffered prolonged absence from home for a decade. Not until he should establish the god's cult in some land so far abroad that it knew no seafaring would Poseidon allow Odysseus to rest from toils.
Now on the New World's east coastline, the god himself looks inland. A contemporary Richmond sculptor with a propitiously Italianate surname perched in 2005 a colossal bronze image of the classical sea-god atop a reef-like base at ocean's edge in Virginia Beach. One message imbued in this sculpture, according to reports from the artist, is a divine rebuke for us to take better care the ocean from which the god emerges so sternly.*
The primary plaque on the base's front informs the visitor of civic "visionary" accomplishments that led to the creation of Virginia Beach in the 1960s and 1970s, "today the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia". The visitor — indeed, "citizens and visitors from across the world" — might turn away from the huge bronze momentarily and consider the lengthy string of multi-storey hotels that lining the strand formidably right where Neptune's eyes are gazing. A separate plaque place on a nearby stele informs that the visitor of the bronze's creator.
DiPasquale's Neptune stands over 34 feet in height (measured from sand to trident's top). That measurement makes this, reportedly, the largest bronze Neptune in the world. The logistics of creating such a massive work make for an interesting story in themselves. The artist's ingenuity, however, deserves attention: the municipal contest for the commission originally stipulated that entries be limited to 15-feet in height. DiPasquale's creation itself meets that requirement, but poised atop its base, the colossus achieves extra monumentality.
DiPasquale is a sculptor to be reckoned with. He has achieved notoriety over the last decade and trained in two stints at the American Academy in Rome. His important Arthur Ashe bronze stands monumentally in the tennis great's (and the sculptor's) hometown of Richmond. A 7-foot maquette of the "Neptune" stands in the entrance of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts E. Clairborne and Lora Robins Sculpture Garden since 2018.
A thematically related usage of Neptune in a civic monument stands in a square in land-locked Durham, England. See Poseidon2.0010_Durham.
* J. Eurice (2005) "Neptune Rising: creating the iconic statue" in Virginia Beach Travel Guide (accessed 25 June 2020)
Poseidon the Earthshaker commanded the earth beneath the Greeks' feet and he also ruled the seas. Odysseus ran afoul of Poseidon's pervasive dominion and suffered prolonged absence from home for a decade. Not until he should establish the god's cult in some land so far abroad that it knew no seafaring would Poseidon allow Odysseus to rest from toils.
Now on the New World's east coastline, the god himself looks inland. A contemporary Richmond sculptor with a propitiously Italianate surname perched in 2005 a colossal bronze image of the classical sea-god atop a reef-like base at ocean's edge in Virginia Beach. One message imbued in this sculpture, according to reports from the artist, is a divine rebuke for us to take better care the ocean from which the god emerges so sternly.*
The primary plaque on the base's front informs the visitor of civic "visionary" accomplishments that led to the creation of Virginia Beach in the 1960s and 1970s, "today the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia". The visitor — indeed, "citizens and visitors from across the world" — might turn away from the huge bronze momentarily and consider the lengthy string of multi-storey hotels that lining the strand formidably right where Neptune's eyes are gazing. A separate plaque place on a nearby stele informs that the visitor of the bronze's creator.
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| Chairmen of the annual September Neptune Festival commemorated as Kings of Neptune by VB Chamber of Commerce |
DiPasquale is a sculptor to be reckoned with. He has achieved notoriety over the last decade and trained in two stints at the American Academy in Rome. His important Arthur Ashe bronze stands monumentally in the tennis great's (and the sculptor's) hometown of Richmond. A 7-foot maquette of the "Neptune" stands in the entrance of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts E. Clairborne and Lora Robins Sculpture Garden since 2018.
A thematically related usage of Neptune in a civic monument stands in a square in land-locked Durham, England. See Poseidon2.0010_Durham.
* J. Eurice (2005) "Neptune Rising: creating the iconic statue" in Virginia Beach Travel Guide (accessed 25 June 2020)
