My new Einstein sculpture was a commission from an American client. The commissioning process is always enjoyable when the client is passionate about the subject but leaves all the creative interpretation to the artist! That’s exactly how it was with this portrait of Einstein.
The client gave me detailed information about why they found Einstein such an inspiring figure. It was Einstein’s ‘amazing courage’ rather than his genius that the client most admired. I was fascinated to read that in 1914, Einstein had co-authored a pacifist proclamation called ‘Manifesto to the Europeans’. It was written in response to the ‘Manifesto of the Ninety-Three’, a document signed by nearly 100 prominent scientists supporting Germany’s militarism and aggression in World War I. In contrast, Einstein’s manifesto urged support for a common global culture that transcended “nationalistic passions”. He was one of only four signatories – a very brave political statement to make at the time.
While Einstein’s courage and pacifism is perhaps less well known, his genius is legendary. We all know that Einstein developed the theory of relativity and transformed our understanding of theoretical physics and astronomy. In 1922, he won the Nobel Prize for Physics, particularly for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect. Einstein’s thinking has influenced many modern technologies and sciences, including things like GPS, satellites and space travel.
In this Einstein sculpture, I wanted to convey both his contemplative nature and a sense of his great intellect. I worked in a crank clay over a steel armature. The crank clay is quite textured, and encourages a loose handling. This in turn gives a dynamic quality to the sculpture. There is also a smaller scaled down Einstein sculpture which is also cast into bronze.
As with my sculptures of Sir Winston Churchill, it can be quite daunting to tackle such a well-known person! But I enjoyed pushing myself and adding to my body of figurative sculpture.
Albert Einstein – 2021 is one of the sculptures I’m exhibiting at Chelsea Flower Show from 24th – 28th May. It is a great opportunity to come and see new work before my next solo exhibition.
