Newton, sometimes known as Newton after Blake, is a sculpture by the Eduardo Paolozzi in the piazza outside the British Library. It is based on William Blake’s 1795 print of Newton: Personification of Man Limited by Reason, which shows Isaac Newton sitting beside a mossy rock while measuring with a set of dividers. Blake was criticising what he saw as Newton’s profane knowledge, usurping the sacred knowledge of Urizen, the embodiment of conventional reason and law – Newton is turning away from nature to focus on his books. The sculpture includes self-portrait of Paolozzi as Newton.
Photo: Newton, British Library, London, July 2011