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NAKED TRUTH STATUEThe Naked Truth The statue called "The Naked Truth," designated a city landmark in 1969, was controversial before it was even built. It is a memorial to Dr. Emil Preetorius, Carl Schurz and Carl Daenzer, German-American editors of the St. Louis Westliche Post. Adolphus Busch was the major donor, giving $20,000 of the $31,000 cost.
The jury voted 14 to 12 to accept the original design but said the nude figure should be made of a material other than white marble, to de-emphasize the nudity. The figure is made of bronze. The statue is a nude figure of a woman seated on a stone bench with arms outstretched, holding torches. The figure symbolizes "Truth" and the torches are for the "enlightenment of Germany and the United States." The figure of Truth is of bronze in heroic size. The eyes are painted as in some bronze figures of the Greeks and as in many modern German statues. The inscription on the back of the shaft in incised lettering expressing the devotion of German-American citizens to the country of their adoption. This inscription is repeated in German. The memorial was a gift to St Louis by the German-American Alliance and was unveiled on May 27, 1914. |
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Copyright © 2004 By The Water Tower and Park Preservation Society Web Site Design and
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A
jury selected a design by sculptor Wilhelm Wandschneider of Berlin. Busch
was appalled by the jury’s selection and the controversy over the nudity in
the statue prompted great debates. The sculptor refused Busch’s request that
the figure be draped.