Lleyton Hewitt’s frightful bronze bust should finally dispel the notion that it is an honour

James Richardson
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Lleyton Hewitt
The bronze bust of Former Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt.

We are going to honour you with a bronze bust is a phrase that should send chills down the spine of any sensible person.

Frightening bronze statuary and other works of art continue to demonstrate how difficult the material is to work with.

Famous instances of dreadful bronze monstrosities include supposed likenesses of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lucille Ball.

To be fair to the artist who created the bronze bust unveiled at Melbourne Park to honour Hewitt, their work wasn’t as frightful as some of the genre’s nightmare fuel.

Hewitt gave some input to the artist, reportedly asking that the bust feature his trademark backwards cap.

Hewitt has been admitted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, just about immortalised with a bronze bust, and has received his dream, as he stated in late October when the announcement was made. Hewitt had his ceremony on Wednesday at the Australian Open, and his bust featured his distinctive backwards cap.

The former World No 1 quipped that he wanted it to have a reversed cap so that no one else in the Hall of Fame looked like him.

One social media user noted that the bust held a distinct resemblance to American actor Joe Pesci, famous for his roles in Goodfellas, Casino and Home Alone.

“It’s a great honor to be inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of some of my great Australian idols,” Hewitt said on being announced into the class.

“I’ve always been such a proud Australian and loved the rich tennis history we have in our sport.” He will now join 46 other greats of Australian tennis in having a bronze bust placed in the Garden Square at Melbourne Park.

There is no real explanation for the sheer number of bad bronze works out there other than the fact that it is an art form that is very difficult to master. Bronze isn’t a material chosen for its ability to render likeness and much of that comes down to how good the artist is at bringing those qualities out of the metal.

A bronze bust of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo at Madeira Airport in 2018. The sculpture achieved viral infamy for its odd resemblance to the star.

It is also likely that artists are rushed to produce these works with bronzework being a notoriously painstaking process and not one that would mesh very well with any sort of tight deadline.

Hewitt’s bust certainly isn’t the worst piece of bronzework you’ll ever see but it does look more like a video game model than a real person.

Expensive and seemingly a hit-and-miss affair, it might be time to consider how to better approach bronze busts as an honour.

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