Statue of James II, Trafalgar Square
| Statue of James II | |
|---|---|
The statue in 2015 | |
| Artist | Peter van Dievoet and Laurens van der Meulen at the workshop of Grinling Gibbons |
| Year | 1686 |
| Type | Statue |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Movement | Classicism |
| Subject | King James II |
| Location | London, WC2 United Kingdom |
| 51°30′30″N 0°07′44″W / 51.5084°N 0.1290°W | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Statue of James II in front of National Gallery west wing |
| Designated | 5 February 1970 |
| Reference no. | 1217629 |
The statue of James II is a bronze sculpture located in the front garden of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Probably inspired by French statues of the same period, it depicts James II of England as a Roman emperor, wearing Roman armour and a laurel wreath (traditionally awarded to a victorious Roman commander). It originally also depicted him holding a baton. It was produced by the workshop of Grinling Gibbons. The execution was most likely, according to contemporary accounts, the work of the Flemish sculptors Peter van Dievoet from Brussels and Laurens van der Meulen from Mechlin, rather than of Gibbons himself. The statue has been relocated several times since it was first erected in the grounds of the old Palace of Whitehall in 1686, only two years before James II was deposed.