Monument of the Great Triumph in Afyonkarahisar Merkez, Turkey

Austrian sculptor Heinrich Krippel had already designed and produced a few statues of Ataturk to help cement the iconography of the newly founded Republic of Turkey. The idea was to portray a self-confident new country, led by a great man and claiming its place as peer to the modern nation-states of Europe. However, in contrast to the dignified and reverential monuments Krippel had previously constructed, for this, his final one, he went full gonzo.

A bravado expressionist work in bronze, two naked, muscled men are shown in the throes of hand-to-hand combat. The victor, astride his vanquished enemy, looms terrifyingly with upraised arms, one hand in a fist and the other with bony fingers outstretched, talon-like.

Though the figures are ostensibly symbolic, representing the Turkish and Greek armies, the standing figure’s slicked-back hair and square jaw reveal the unmistakable likeness of Ataturk. The hero of the War of Independence would make a visit in 1937, the year after the monument’s dedication, and a year before his death at age 57. He posed for a couple of photos and praised the work. Acclaim was not universal though.

Some had issues with the fact that commissions were still being given to foreign artists more than a decade after the Republic’s founding. Others found the sculpture a little too anatomically correct, and in the 1950s the decision was taken to grind down the protagonist’s prodigious bulge, giving him his current sexless appearance.

The monument still retains its power though, situated in a park facing the Victory Museum and having as a backdrop the majestic Afyonkarahisar fortress.