Angel of Rescue / Raoul Wallenberg Statue (1988)
Franco Assetto
DESCRIPTION: 3-piece 18-foot high by 5-foot by 5-foot bronze and stainless steel sculpture/statue, mounted on a hexagonal granite-faced plinth bearing bronze commemoration plaques
Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, saved thousands of Jewish lives in the Holocaust by producing Swedish passes for Jews who were soon to be sent to Auschwitz.
Assetto named his sculpture "Angel of Rescue" in tribute to Raoul Wallenberg, and it depicts a bronze silhouette of a man with an extended hand, flanked by two machine polished stainless steel wings. According to Assetto, the silhouette represents not the human figure of Wallenberg but his spirit, and the steel wings symbolize his role as an angel of mercy and rescue.
The sculptural ensemble was funded by private donations led by Hungarian Jews living in Los Angeles, and was donated to the City of Los Angeles. The piece was dedicated December 4, 1988, and re-dedicated in 2013 to honor Wallenberg's 101st birthday. Raoul Wallenberg Square itself was created by the Los Angeles City Council in 1986.
Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, saved thousands of Jewish lives in the Holocaust by producing Swedish passes for Jews who were soon to be sent to Auschwitz.
Assetto named his sculpture "Angel of Rescue" in tribute to Raoul Wallenberg, and it depicts a bronze silhouette of a man with an extended hand, flanked by two machine polished stainless steel wings. According to Assetto, the silhouette represents not the human figure of Wallenberg but his spirit, and the steel wings symbolize his role as an angel of mercy and rescue.
The sculptural ensemble was funded by private donations led by Hungarian Jews living in Los Angeles, and was donated to the City of Los Angeles. The piece was dedicated December 4, 1988, and re-dedicated in 2013 to honor Wallenberg's 101st birthday. Raoul Wallenberg Square itself was created by the Los Angeles City Council in 1986.
LOCATION: Raoul Wallenberg Square, northeast corner of Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA
