Alexander the Great in Skopje, a photo from Skopje, West

Photographer's Note

I guess a sculpture is artwork so that is the category I used. This enormous statue of Alexander the Great (also Alexander III of Macedon) is a centrepiece of Macedonia Square. The woman seated on the fountain is holding 4 pink balloons. Alexander was born in Thella to the west of Thessaloniki in July 365 BC. This statue might not exist anymore following protests from Greece. In FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), a former Prime Minister named their airport after Alexander the Great, and erected a huge statue in the capital, Skopje. However, after ongoing debate, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev ordered the name of the airport to be changed and the statue to be taken down. Zaev has been Prime Minister of North Macedonia since 30 August 2020, a position he previously held from 31 May 2017 to 3 January 2020. Re the ongoing dispute between Greece & North Macedonia, about the origins of Alexander, maybe this best sums it up... "Perhaps the best answer is that he was both: a man born in Ancient Macedonia, the son of a Macedonian King of Greek descent, educated by the esteemed Greek philosopher Aristotle, who went on to spread Ancient Greek culture and life throughout a world that has since changed dramatically."

Source: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/greece/articles/was-alexander-the-great-greek-or-macedonian/

papagolf21, holmertz, ikeharel, PaulVDV, jhm, ricardomattos, pierrefonds, Fis2, PiotrF, burmaman, Royaldevon, worldcitizen, ktanska has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

papagolf21 (152607) 2020-11-10 1:19

Bonjour, cher Chris,
Une pr閟entation excellente de cette sculpture monumentale avec fontaines.
Superbe !
Amiti閟.
Philippe

lousat (139332) 2020-11-10 1:21

Ciao Chris,the 2 ladies sitting under the statue gives us the exact idea of how is big this artwork. Very very great way to celebrate Alexander in the Macedonia capital,perfect light and top quality as usual. Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

pajaran (115989) 2020-11-10 1:26

Greeting.
I lived in Macedonia, where I finished elementary school, and she will remain in my fond memories.
Beautiful fountain and sculptures, well shown with beautiful colors, contrast and good text.
nice place and captured moment.
I wish you all the best.
Paja.

holmertz (102774) 2020-11-10 1:35

Hello Chris,
It's quite a horrible and tasteless monument, regardless of one's personal ideas about that conflict of names and history. But it's a well taken photo, perfectly exposed and very sharp. It's the lady with the pink balloons that really makes it worth a good look.
Best regards,
Gert

PaulVDV (62978) 2020-11-10 2:51

Hello Chris,
I remember this giant statue and fountain in the centre of the square.
It was always extremely popular with visitors who had themselves photographed right next to the water jets.
I know that not everyone likes this part of Skopje equally but those who like to take pictures will find a lot of possibilities to obtain good compositions.
It's a pity that the North Macedonian flag is not flying in full. It has such fastastic colours.
Wonderful brightness. Clear and sharp presentation.
Best regards, Paul

vjmite (6604) 2020-11-10 3:36

Hi Chris,

That's an impressive fountain, with the raindrops falling off the top level, and that gigantic statue of Alexander. It has a classical look to it, especially the reliefs on the column and the statues around the base. Good light control with all those bright surfaces. Funny how people get into heated arguments about someone who died 2300 years ago.

Vince

jhm (211736) 2020-11-10 5:09

Hello Chris,

Fountain and statue care for a very nice picture.
You did excellent addition, the people with balloons
Nice composition and presentation.
Sharp and clear photographed.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

ricardomattos (17460) 2020-11-10 5:10

Hi Chris,

Beautiful sculpture and work of art around. Amazing picture . Excelent frame, colors and sharpness. Very well done and atractive. Lovely place to know.

TFS and congrats

Ricardo

pierrefonds (114536) 2020-11-10 5:33

Bonjour Chris,

La pr閟ence des personnes a un effet d'閏helle de grandeur. La prise de vue permet de voir les d閠ails de la fontaine et de la statue d'Alexandre le Grand. La qualit� de la lumi鑢e embellit les couleurs de l'image. Bonne journ閑.

Pierre

Fis2 (170861) 2020-11-10 5:35

Witaj Chris!
A very nice square, the fountain and the sculpture of Alexander the Great is impressive.
Good framing, colors and light.
I like water effect.
Well done.
Nice afternoon.
Krzysztof

dta (98848) 2020-11-10 7:57

Hello Chris,
An impressive fountain , perfectly captured in the beautiful blue sky . The presence of the women gives the scale .
Regards

Ilonka1974 (10305) 2020-11-10 10:11

Hi Chris,
Interesting picture,
Excellent presentation.
Lovely composition.
Very well done.
Best regards
Janusz

Tue (92470) 2020-11-10 11:54

Hello Chris,
Great to see this enormous monument, as it was described in a novel I read last year, which was partly set in Skopje. Very good and clear photo and the bronze colours of Alexander and his horse look great against the blue sky.
Lars

PiotrF (54788) 2020-11-10 15:59

Hello Chris,
Monument of impressive size. I like good composition and good quality. Good work, nice presentation.
Regards
Piotr

Silvio1953 (221729) 2020-11-10 21:18

Ciao Chris, great view of fantastic statue on fascinating fountain, excellent clarity, fine details, splendid light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

ifege (48159) 2020-11-10 22:13

HI Chris.
Huge! Not exactly beautiful either but interesting mix of styles.
Did you know that TE is no longer showing categories so there is no need to tick one of them any more.
cheers
Ian

jemaflor (147224) 2020-11-10 23:41

Hi Chris,
well photographed this column and statue, good effect with this nice sunlight and the blue sky, perfect sharpness, interesting presentation, tfs.

emka (158204) 2020-11-10 23:43

hello Chris, IThe monument is quite impressive, especially this black and white column. Rather strange and I am not sure if I like it. The woman with the pink ballon is a nice detail in the composition. And they give the scale, Alexander and his horse are huge. strange to see lions.
Best regrads Malgo

burmaman (1336) 2020-11-11 2:19

Hello Chris!
What a huge monument with fine details to view.I like the contrast of the huge statue with the deep blue sky.
REgards,Ronny

Royaldevon (85932) 2020-11-11 3:50

Hello Chris,

It would be a great pity if this statue and fountain had been removed, for it is a real eye-catcher and is beautifully captured in your photograph!
The details are pin-sharp in a bright sunlight!
The balloon seller was important to your photograph for I don't think we would have understood the massive scale of this sculpture otherwise.

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

mkamionka (74535) 2020-11-11 11:13

Hi Chris,
quite an extraordinary monument. Very bright and spacious square. And the monument set against the well polarized sky. The ladies with balloons add a lovely touch maybe having them closer would bring in even more joy and color.
It is quite interesting to follow this dispute. I agree with Greece about the name of the country, however I don't understand why the name of the Alexander cannot be used. I get the fact that Greeks say he was a Greek but I would not stop other people from using his name to name the airport.
Great reportage from this underrepresented here country,
M

worldcitizen (16104) 2020-11-12 13:28

Hello Chris,
Wow! That is a very large work of art! It's actually multiple works of art layered one on top of one other, and the enormous Alexander on top. The pink balloons are a nice touch. The people look so small, too. Take care!

ktanska (44804) 2020-11-13 9:26

Hi Chris,
Wow, that is one massive statue. And the size becomes very evident on such central location. I actually like that pedestal more. Of course such famous historical emperor is important for the small country.
Kari

jmdias (115252) 2020-11-21 12:22

chris

a curious mix of huge monument and fountain. I can understand why they built this homage for him, the most famous personage of this region. the question of the name is something fool for those who aren't greek or from this new country. sometimes national questions are so small... this remind me bolivia trying to have access to the sea that was stolen by the chilenians and the pride is ever inside the question avoiding a real solution..
take care

jorge

take care

jorge