Leopold De Wael

This monumental bronze sculpture, created by Frans Joris in 1897, pays tribute to Leopold de Wael, liberal mayor of Antwerp from 1872 to 1892. During his administration, the port was expanded and the Scheldt quays straightened to facilitate navigation, leading to the demolition of large sections of the old medieval city. 

At the centre, on top of the monument, stands a bust of De Wael himself, with pronounced sideburns and a striking nose. He is flanked by an allegorical figure, Antwerpia, wearing the typical city-crown (an emblem on the city’s coat of arms), and Mercury, the Roman god of commerce and travel. Frans Joris devised an ingenious play of gazes between the three figures: Mercury, seated lowest, looks upward to Antwerpia, who in turn gazes up admiringly at Leopold de Wael above her, whose gentle gaze is directed forward. In this way, the viewer’s gaze is also led upward to the central figure of the sculptural group. 

The monument was unveiled on 8 August 1897 at the Gemeenteplaats, today Franklin Rooseveltplaats. It stood on a several meter-high pedestal, giving the ensemble a truly monumental scale. In 1948, the City Council decided to move the statue to King Albert Park, and in 1951 it was placed in municipal storage. 

Frans Joris (1851–1914) was a Belgian sculptor. He was a pupil of Jozef Geefs and professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.