SculptureGent · BE
Edward Anseele
On Frankrijkplein, a square once named after textile pioneer Lieven Bauwens, Jozef Cantré's monumental statue of Edward Anseele looms over passers-by. Standing more than five metres tall in blocks of Balmoral stone, it depicts Ghent's beloved socialist leader pointing the way forward while workers cluster at his feet. Inaugurated in 1948, the sculpture is both a tribute to a towering political figure and a striking example of interwar Belgian monument-making.