12 Most Famous Statues in the World – Next Luxury

Humans have been creating statues since the dawn of time. As far back as 32,000 BC, humans have been constructing statues for a variety of purposes. These impressive artistic feats range from statues of real-life people to towering architectural structures that have to be seen to be believed. While you have probably heard of famous statues like David or Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, there are a host of other incredible statues around the world worth visiting on your travels. 

The famous statues on this list are all celebrated as some of the best ever made and well worth putting on your bucket list. 

1. Statue of Liberty

Everybody knows about the famous New York tourist attraction the Statue of Liberty. An icon of freedom that welcomes immigrants into America, the towering Lady Liberty was a gift from the French in 1886. The cooper statue was the brainchild of French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, with the metal framework built by Gustave Eiffel, who also had a hand in the Eiffel Tower. 

The statue itself is 305 feet from the ground to the top of the torch and is modeled after the Roman liberty goddess. She can be seen raising a torch in one hand and holding a tablet in the other, with the tablet inscribed with the date of the US Declaration of Independence. 

The Statue of Liberty is one of New York’s most visited tourist attractions and remains a national landmark. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and US National Monument. 

2. Great Sphinx of Giza

This mythical creature has the body of a lion and the head of a man. Situated at the Giza Plateau near Cairo in Egypt, it’s the oldest known monument in Egypt, believed to have been built around 2,500 BC. Cut from bedrock and restored with limestone, the Great Sphinx is believed to represent the Pharaoh Khafre. 

Unfortunately, that is about all archeologists have been able to discover about the Great Sphinx. While it is believed Pharaoh Khafre had it built, there are conflicting reports as to why. Whatever the reason, there is no denying this marvel of Egyptian construction is one of the most famous statues in the world. 

3. The Little Mermaid 

This bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen is found by the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It’s a rather small statue, measuring just four feet tall, and depicts a mermaid sitting on a rock. The statue takes inspiration from Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s story The Little Mermaid. 

Commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, the statue quickly became a tourist attraction after its erection in 1913. Over the years it has been through the wars, with vandals often causing damage to the statue. It’s even lost its head on several occasions, although is currently in good nick. 

There are also a number of copies around the world found in Solvang, California; Seoul, South Korea; Madrid, Spain; and Piatra Neamt, Romania. 

4. Spring Temple Buddha

At the time of its construction in 2008, this massive Buddha was the tallest statue in the world. Standing 420 feet tall, the Spring Temple Buddha took 11 years to complete and cost around $55 million. It consists of 1,100 pieces of copper cast, with a total weight of 1,000 tonnes. 

Found in the southwest-central Henan Province of China, the name of the temple is inspired by the nearby Tianrui hot springs. This Buddha statue is another eye-catching statue that is a big tourist attraction.

5. David Statue

Michelangelo’s David is one of the most celebrated artworks of the Renaissance period. It’s a statue of a naked David from the Bible made entirely from marble. Housed at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy, this masterpiece came to represent the civil liberties of what was once the Republic of Florence. 

Unlike most statues of David, this one features the hero totally starkers. At the time of its creation, most statues of David showed him in the aftermath of defeating Goliath. Michelangelo wanted to show David in a thoughtful state before the battle, capturing him as he contemplates his fight with the giant. 

6.

Christ the Redeemer

This massive statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is located at the peak of Corcovado Mountain. Standing 125 feet tall (including its pedestal), this statue features Jesus with his hands out and is a symbol of Christianity. It’s a cultural icon and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. 

French sculptor Paul Landowski came up with the design of Christ the Redeemer, with Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa the man who built the statue. Made from reinforced concrete and soapstone, it took nine years to build. Christ the Redeemer is a cultural landmark in Brazil and was recognized as a National Historic Heritage of Brazil in 2001. 

7. The Thinker

There are a lot of nude statues out there, and along with David, the most famous is The Thinker. This bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin shows a naked man sitting with his head resting on his hands in deep thought. Now housed in the Rodin Museum in Paris, France, the statue is often associated with philosophy.

It was first known as The Poet and part of Rodin’s 1880 commissioned artwork The Gates of Hell. After foundry workers began calling it The Thinker, noticing a resemblance to Michelangelo’s Il Pensieroso (The Thinker), Rodin decided to keep it as a separate artwork. 

There are said to be around  28 monumental-sized bronze casts of the statue around the world, so if you can’t make it to Paris, there is still a chance to catch The Thinker in a country close by. 

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8. Augustus of Prima Porta

The Vatican Museum is home to many famous and celebrated statues and artworks. While the Renaissance frescoes by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel are often the main attraction, another is the Augustus of Prima Porta. This is a life-sized statue of Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. 

Nobody is quite sure who crafted this eye-catching statue, as it wasn’t uncovered until 1863. It’s believed to be a copy of a lost bronze original and stands six foot ten inches and weighs a hefty 2,200 pounds. 

9. Moai

These famous statues on Easter Island are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people. Appearing somewhere between 1250 and 1500, these statutes have overly large heads and are scattered all across Easter Island. 

What’s so remarkable about these statues is that they were all created at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry in the center of the island. Somehow the Polynesian people managed to cart hundreds of these statues around the island and then erect them. Most of the statues weigh around 80 tonnes and stand as tall as 33 feet high. 

When the Europeans invaded during the late 1700s, most of the moai were toppled. These days there are about 50 that have been re-erected around the island and in museums. 

10. Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial, or Statue of Lincoln as it’s also known, is a grand statue of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Sculpted by Daniel Chester French and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers, the statue features Lincoln sitting on a ceremonial chair with a solemn expression on his face. 

Unveiled in 1922, the statue is influenced by the Beaux Arts and American Renaissance tradition. Made from 28 blocks of white Georgia marble, the Statue of Lincoln is 30 feet tall and weighs 170 tonnes.  

11. Venus de Milo

The Venus de Milo is so famous it was even parodied in an episode of The Simpsons. The Ancient Greece sculpture depicts Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, and was crafted sometime between 150 and 125 BC. It was found on the island of Milos, Greece, in 1820, and quickly moved to the Louvre Museum.

Although it has both arms missing, the Venus de Milo is one of the crown jewels in the Louvre’s collection. Its recognition as a famous statue has much to do with the French government, which promoted the statue and its greatness for many years to entice people to visit the Lourve when in Paris. The propaganda campaign worked and the Venus de Milo is now a famous statue that has to be seen to be believed. 

12. Manneken Pis

That’s right, a statue of a little boy pissing is widely regarded as one of the most famous statues in the world. The Manneken Pis, which is Dutch for “little pissing man,” is a bronze statue in the heart of Brussels, Belgium. The statue has a steady stream of water coming out of the boy’s penis that is collected in a basin below. 

Designed by sculptor Jérôme Duquesnoy the Elder, the statue has been damaged and stolen numerous times over the years, although it is now one of Brussels’ top tourist attractions. It is often dressed up in different costumes with mini-celebrations taking place. 

13. Statue of Unity

This is the tallest statue in the world, coming in at a height of 597 feet. The statue is created in the image of Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhbhai Patel. During his lifetime, Patel managed to unite the 562 states of India into one Union.  

Designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Sutar, it took five years and a whopping $422 million to build. Constructed on a river island named Sadhu Bet, the Statue of Unity is a big tourist attraction, with over 5,00,000 people having visited the statue over the first four years since it opened in 2018.

14. Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss

This is one of the great artworks sculptured by Italian maestro Antonio Canova. Based on the story of Cupid and Psyche, the statue shows Cupid giving Psyche the kiss of life. Many in the art world consider it a masterpiece of Neoclassical sculpture, with the Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss currently housed in the Louvre Museum. 

There are several replicas of this statue around the world that draw big audiences. A second version of the sculpture by Canova crafted in 1796 was acquired by Russian nobleman Prince Yusupov and sits in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. There’s also another model found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 

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