Changing trains recently at Šiauliai in Lithuania, I noticed something that I don't think I've seen a lot before.
On the platform, there is a statue of Stasys Nosys on a plinth, depicting his visible disability.
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| Stasys Nosys statue, Šiauliai |
Stasys Nosys (1905-1976) was a strongman and bodybuilder. In 1926, he lost both of his legs in an accident. He continued his training and performed in circuses with feats of strength, like breaking stones apart with his fist or lifting up a truck.
There was false propaganda in the Soviet Union that there were no people with disabilities, and thus Stasys Nosys was prohibited from his circus work.
I then started thinking whether I had seen statues depicting people with disabilities.
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| Alison Lapper sculpture, Abxbay, Wikimedia Commons |
I remembered the sculpture of Alison Lapper that was displayed on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square between 2005 and 2007 (and is in Venice in this photograph). Somehow, I didn't think of this as a 'commemorative' statue, as Alison Lapper is still alive.
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| Beethovenhaus, Bonn |
I also thought of this statue of Beethoven, at the museum which now occupies his home in Bonn. His disability is not visible, but perhaps it is still present in the sculpture?
What other examples do you know of statues depicting people with disabilities?