Kopernik, (sculpture).

Kopernik, (sculpture).

Talcott, Dudley Vaill, 1899- , sculptor.

Kopernik, (sculpture).

Kopernik Monument, (sculpture).

Nicolaus Copernicus, 1473-1543, (sculpture).

Dedicated Aug. 18, 1973.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: stainless steel; Base: red granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 144 in. Diam. 192 in.; Base: approx. H. 140 in. Diam. 96 in.

(Base, northwest and southwest face:) KOPERNIK/POLISH ASTRONOMER unsigned

The solar system is represented by a circle within a circle with a triangle shape connecting the two on one side. The outer circle symbolizes the orbit of the earth, the inner circle is the sun with its rays extending out into infinity. The triangle shape on which the circles are balanced symbolizes the home-made instruments Kopernik used in his calculations. The sculpture rests on a base which is made of two very large granite cubes on top of a granite disk.

Homage -- Copernicus, Nicolaus

Landscape -- Celestial

Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

Administered by City of Philadelphia, Fairmount Park Commission, Memorial Hall, West Park, P. O. Box 21601, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131

Located Torun Triangle, 18th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The sculpture commemorates the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). It cost $50,000 and was a gift of the Polish-American Community of the Delaware Valley to the City of Philadelphia from the Kopernick Quintcentennial Commemorative Committee and the Polish Heritage Society of Philadelphia. Mikolaj Kopernick who is known by his Latin name, Nicolaus Copernicus, is the founder of modern astronomy. He discovered the heliocentric system which up until the 16th century was officially considered heretical. In his work "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies" Copernicus theorized that the sun does not revolve and around the earth, but that the earth revolves around the sun which is the center of the solar system. His theory upset the medieval notion that the earth was the center of the universe. His concept was later corroborated by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) and formed the basis for the law of gravity, discovered by the English scientist Isaac Newton (1642-1727).

IAS files contain a copy of a pamphlet from the Kopernik Quintcentennial Commemorative Committee; and articles from the Catholic Standard and Times, August 23, 1973; Philadelphia Bulletin, Feb. 9, 1973; Philadelphia Inquirer, April 29, 1973 pg. 6-B and Nov. 17,1972, pg. 27.

The inscription on a 5.5 inch medallion in the pavement twenty-seven inches from the base reads: SOIL FROM BIRTHPLACE/OF/MIKOLAJ KPERNIK/(1473-1973)/POLISH ASTRONOMER/TORUN, POLAND. Inscription on a grey granite stone 24 inches wide and 18 inches deep on the east-northeast side of the base reads: KOPERNIK MONUMENT/COMMEMORATING THE QUINTCENTENNIAL/OF MIKOLAJ KOPERNIK/BORN IN TORUN, POLAND 1473/A GIFT FROM THE POLISH AMERICAN/COMMUNITY OF THE DELAWARE VALLEY TO THE/CITY OF PHILADELPHIA/1973. Inscription on grey granite stone 24 inches wide and 18 inches deep on the east-southeast side of the base reads: TORUN TRIANGLE/DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE OF/SISTER CITIES/TORUN-PHILADELPHIA/FRANK L. RIZZO/MAYOR/1976.

Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 339.

Bach, Penny Balkin, "Public Art in Philadelphia," Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992, pg. 238.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia survey, 1993.

Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 339.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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