| The Horses of Helios | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The sculpture in 2010 | |
 | |
| Artist | Rudy Weller |
| Year | 1992 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Subject |
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| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| 51°30′36″N 0°08′00″W / 51.509977°N 0.133413°W | |
The Horses of Helios, also known as The Four Bronze Horses of Helios,[1] is a bronze sculpture of four horses by Rudy Weller. It is one half of a commission installed in 1992 when the adjacent Criterion Theatre was refurbished. The other half, the Daughters of Helios or Three Graces, is a sculpture of three women leaping off the building six stories above.
The Horses of Helios comprises three bronze elements with dark patina: one pair of horses weighing approximately 4 tons, and two single horses. The four rearing horses appear to be bursting from the water of a fountain. It depicts Aethon, Eous, Phlegon, and Pyrois - the four horses of Helios, Greek god of the sun.[1]
The sculpture was installed in 1991 in a fountain under a canopy at the base of the building at 1 Jermyn Street, on the corner where Piccadilly meets Haymarket, near Piccadilly Circus in London.[2] The building is adjacent to the Criterion Theatre, and was installed when the theatre was refurbished.
The Daughters of Helios or Three Graces depicts the three Charites - Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia - who in some accounts are the daughters of Helios and the naiad Aegle. The three female figures are made from gold-leaf-covered aluminium. They are installed at roof level, as if leaping off the 6th floor of the building immediately above the horses below.
As of 2022[update], since at least December 2020, the sculpture is behind a security fence and the fountain is not operating.[3]
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Daughters of Helios -
Daughters of Helios
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- ^ a b "The Horses of Helios – Haymarket/Piccadilly Circus, London, UK". Waymarking. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "From the Art: The Four Horses of Helios". ThirdWay. 31 (9). Hymns Ancient & Modern: 12. November 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "The Four Bronze Horses of Helios (London)". Tripadvisor. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
Dec 2020 Not sure if it's a COVID-19 thing but when I visited the horses were enclosed with a big barrier in front of them and the fountain was not working either.