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Notes
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The concept for the monument is derived from Donne’s poetry. The main inscription around the top edge of the plinth is from 'Good-Friday, 1613, Riding Westward', lines 9–10. The inscription uses four of the letters within the text to mark the points of the compass around the circumference. The directions of the compass were important to Donne in his metaphysical work: east is the Rising Sun, the Holy Land and Christ; while west is the place of decline and of death. The plinth is based on the gothic moulding and proportions of a pillar from the crypt of Old St Paul’s. Within the bronze drapery on the right shoulder of the bust is a relief diagram of a flea and on the back of the left shoulder, in Donne’s handwriting, an inscription from the Verse 'Letter To Lady Cary And Mistress Essex Rich'.
Title
John Donne (1572–1631)
Date
2012
Medium
bronze & stone
Accession number
EC4M_AY_S034
Acquisition method
Alderman Robert Hall, and the City of London Corporation
Work type
Bust
Owner
City of London Corporation
Custodian
City of London Corporation
Work status
extant
Unveiling date
15th June 2012
Access
at all times