Le monument à Nelson
Le monument est situé à l’extrémité nord de la place Jacques-Cartier, en bordure de la rue Notre-Dame. Il s’agit d’un repère urbain important et structurant pour le Vieux-Montréal, à la croisée des axes est-ouest et nord-sud. Au moment de l’érection du monument, ce site est l’une des places civiles les plus importantes de la ville. Appelé à l’époque le « New Market », ce marché public est alors considéré comme le centre-ville de Montréal. Il comprend des bâtiments à caractère municipal et privé comme l’Exchange Coffee House, le Silver Dollar Saloon, l’église des Jésuites, le Custom Court et la prison.
Le monument se compose d’une base quadrangulaire d’où s’élève une colonne à fût circulaire d’ordre dorique. Sa forme et ses proportions sont inspirées de la colonne de Trajan, à Rome. Des panneaux, rehaussés de médaillons en bas-relief et d’inscriptions gravées, occupent chacune des faces de la base. Ils rappellent les batailles et les exploits par lesquels s’est illustré l’amiral Lord Nelson.
Tout en haut de la colonne, dont la base est enserrée dans une glène de cordage, sur une plate-forme carrée, est déposée la statue de Nelson. Il est vêtu de son costume d’amiral et porte tous les insignes dont il fut décoré. Son pied droit est pointé vers l’avant, il se tient le bras gauche appuyé sur un tronçon de mât entouré de cordages et de palans, une lunette d’approche à la main. Du côté de son bras manquant (le bras droit), la manche de sa veste est repliée sur la poitrine. La statue est environ une fois et demie grandeur nature.
Le Monument à Nelson est le plus ancien de la collection municipale. À l’origine, la statue et les panneaux décoratifs étaient en pierre Coade, un matériau synthétique mis au point par la Coade & Sealy’s Lambeth Company de Londres, dont la recette est aujourd’hui disparue.
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Nelson's Monument
The monument is situated at the north end of Place Jacques-Cartier, near Rue Notre-Dame. It is an important landmark in the city and a structuring element of Old Montréal, at the crossing of the east-west and north-south axes. When the monument was erected, this site was one of the largest squares in the city. At the time called the New Market, this public market was considered to be Montréal’s city core. Around it were municipal and private buildings such as the Exchange Coffee House, the Silver Dollar Saloon, the Jesuit church, the Custom Court, and the prison.
The monument is composed of a square base from which a circular Doric barrel column rises. Its shape and proportions are inspired by the Trajan column in Rome. Panels enhanced with bas-relief medallions and engraved inscriptions occupy all sides of the base. They refer to the battles and exploits through which Admiral Lord Nelson distinguished himself.
At the top of the column, around the base of which is a coil of rope, is a square platform on which stands the statute of Nelson. He is dressed in his admiral’s uniform and wears all of the insignia with which he was decorated. His right foot points forward, his left arm rests on a section of mast surrounded by rope and blocks and tackles, and he holds a spyglass in his hand. On the side of his missing arm (the right arm), the sleeve of his jacket is folded over his chest. The statute is about one and a half times life size.
The Nelson Monument is the oldest piece in the municipal collection. The statue and decorative panels were originally covered with Coade stone, a synthetic material developed by the Coade & Sealy's Lambeth Company of London, the formula for which is now lost.
Associated events
The monument was erected in memory of Admiral Horatio Nelson (Burnham 1758–Trafalgar Bay 1805) to commemorate his victories and titles of nobility, and more particularly to underline the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Venerated as the architect of British naval supremacy, Nelson is considered one of the greatest military strategists of all time. His famous order at the Battle of Trafalgar, “England expects every man will do his duty,” has become part of the mythology of British patriotism.
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