LONDON (AP) – One art critic compared the new Harry Kane bronze statue to a bulging-jawed comic strip character.
In Miami, observers said the Dwyane Wade sculpture looks more like actor Laurence Fishburne than the former basketball star. Of course, the infamous Cristiano Ronaldo bust in 2017 gave the chiseled soccer star a chubby face and goofy smile.
A statue of Mohamed Salah in 2018 depicted the Liverpool star with a disproportionately large head. In 2011, a terracotta warrior statue of Andy Murray at a Shanghai tennis tournament drew chuckles, including from the star himself: “I thought I was better looking than that.”
It wasn’t always this way. In classical times, sculptors “had absolutely no interest in depicting people accurately,” explained a London-based sculptural conservator Lucy Branch.
“What they ended up doing quite often, they recycled sculptures so when another athlete became more prominent, they just changed the name on the plaque,” said Branch, host of the Sculpture Vulture podcast.
“There’s this idea now, in this era, that commemorative sculpture should be like portraiture – it should look exactly like the person they are commemorating. But actually that’s a really new idea in sculpture.”
London-based sculptor Hywel Pratley studied countless images of Queen Elizabeth II to create a memorial statue in the East Midlands town of Oakham.
“A good portrait sculpture is evidence of 1,000 decisions after 10,000 observations,” Pratley said.
In addition, Yorkshire county sculptor Steve Winterburn recommended getting close with a subject’s family and friends to help find characteristics.
“You don’t want it looking like a Madame Tussauds,” said Winterburn, who created a statue of five Rugby League greats at Wembley Stadium.
“It still needs a bit of art in it, a bit of soul. That’s what makes art really sing.”
The Ronaldo bust depicted the Portugal star smiling crookedly. Likewise, the Salah sculpture features the Egyptian smiling while celebrating a goal.
In Miami, Wade’s mouth is open in the statue representing the moment the player famously jumped onto a courtside table and yelled “This is my house.” It’s probably best avoided.
“It’s really difficult to do teeth looking good in sculpture,” Pratley said.
