This statue in Tower Grove Park is of Alexander von Humboldt, who used to be a Really Big Deal. He was described in the mid to late 19th Century as the last person who knew everything about everything. There are statues of him in many U.S. cities with German populations. His fame, however, has dimmed with the great strides of the sciences.
Here he is surrounded by spring tulips, the quintessentially Dutch flower. I don't think he minds.
A well known statue in Tower Grove Park of Alexander von Humboldt. He used to be a Really Big Deal, an idolized figure in the sciences and humanities. You see statues of him around the U.S., particularly in areas with German populations. There is a Humboldt Park near where my son lived in Chicago. He's not so much in vogue any more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_von_Humboldt. I read a fascinating biography of him a few years ago, https://www.amazon.com/Invention-Nature-Adventures-Alexander-Humboldt/dp/1848549008/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1650667258&sr=1-1
This statue has always seemed a bit odd to me. The pose looks mournful, downcast or simply tired. Don't know what's behind it.
And I don't know what I'll post for a bit. Back in the air this afternoon for some family business. You're probably not interested in pictures of the Philadelphia airport.
