Spinoza statue unveiled in Amsterdam

The unveiling of a very prominent statue of philosopher Baruch Spinoza in Amsterdam took place Monday, 24 November in the presence of the city’s mayor, Job Cohen. It has been placed on the Zwanenburgerwal near the Stopera (the city’s opera house), which is at the entrance of the former Jewish quarter where Spinoza grew up. The statue was crafted out of bronze by Nicolas Dings and the head was specifically made to match the one on the former 1000 gulder banknote.

Our very own roving reporter and photographer Branko Collin says that, “according to a radio item this morning, the symbols on the cloak – the roses, parakeets and sparrows – stand for Spinoza himself, immigrants (a reference to the parakeets in Vondelpark) and natives (sparrows are a diminishing breed).”

(Link: elsevier.nl, photo: Branko Collin)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 12:04 pm and is filed under Art, General, History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tags: Amsterdam, Jewish quarter, Job Cohen, Spinoza, statue