The Paolozzi sculpture, Master of the Universe, which for the last quarter century has been on display outside the Modern Art Gallery has been moved into town.
It now has pride of place at the National Gallery. The move of the one tonne sculpture took two days to complete along with a crane. Dr Patricia Allerston, Deputy Director & Chief Curator of European & Scottish Art, National Galleries of Scotland said: “We wanted to bring the art outdoors and into the gardens at the National to spotlight that we are a gallery from the moment people arrive in the gardens. We wanted it to welcome people in and to show a snapshot of the incredible Scottish art on offer inside. Paolozzi seemed like a perfect choice for this spot, he was very much an artist who looked to the past as well as to the future, which is very much what we are about at the National Galleries of Scotland. He was also from Edinburgh, which seemed very fitting as he will now be looking out over the city and facing towards his hometown of Leith.”
The sculpture is based on a drawing by William Blake showing scientist, Isaac Newton. Paolozzi used the same pose but he mechanised the figure. He also used himself as a model.
