Floriano Bodini | Göttinger Sieben

The ensemble by Floriano Bodini (b. 1933 in Gemonio, Italy – d. 2005) is the result of a competition tendered by the state of Lower Saxony: the goal was a monument commemorating the professors at the University of Göttingen who would become known as the Göttingen Seven. In 1837, they protested the annulling of the constitution in the Kingdom of Hannover and were subsequently dismissed
from their positions and some of them were forced to leave the country. Bodini’s piece defines a space whose details invite the viewer to explore, opening up contemporary references concerning democracy, authority and participation. The artist portrayed his own friends as everyday representatives in the larger-than-life-sized sculptures. The ruler against whom the Göttingen Seven rebelled (likewise depicted on horseback in Bodini’s ensemble), is incidentally the same King Ernst August that Albert Wolff portrayed in an equestrian monument in front of the main train station in 1861. The piece was initiated by the Knigge Society and financed by prominent Lower Saxon businesses, foundations and associations in addition to numerous donations from the citizenry. It is the property of the State of Lower Saxony. » Location: Platz der Göttinger Sieben