Albert Memorial (London, England) : Detail of the gilded railings, restored ca. 1990-1998

Creator:

Scott, George Gilbert, I, 1811-1878

Published/Created:

London, England, United Kingdom
South Kensington; South Carriage Drive
1863-1876

Physical Description:

176 ft (height)

Date Depicted:

5/3/2007

Materials:

gilded bronze; marble; enamel and glass mosaic

Notes:

Commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert who died of typhoid in 1861. In 1863 Scott's design for the memorial to Prince Albert in Hyde Park, London, was chosen , but not until 1876 was J. H. Foley’s gilded statue of the Prince finally set in its great Italian Gothic tabernacle [ciborium, derived from the Scaliger Tombs, Verona], enriched by Scott’s favorite craftsmen, including the sculptors Henry Hugh Armstead, John Birnie Philip and J. F. Redfern (1838-1876), the stone-carvers Farmer & Brindley, the ironworker Francis Skidmore and for the mosaics the designer J. R. Clayton (1827-1912) and the maker Antonio Salviati (1816-1890). The central part of the memorial is surrounded by the elaborate sculptural Frieze of Parnassus, which depicts 169 individual composers, architects, poets, painters, and sculptors. Armstead carved the figures on the south and east side, the painters, musicians and poets (80 in total), and grouped them by national schools. John Birnie Philip carved the figures on the west and north side, the sculptors and architects, and arranged them in chronological order. At the corners of the plinth there are two allegorical sculpture programs: four groups depicting Victorian industrial arts and sciences (agriculture, commerce, engineering and manufacturing), and four more groups representing Europe, Asia, Africa and The Americas.

Topics:

Architecture -- Britain -- 19th century -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Gothic Revival
Nineteenth century

Culture:

British

Accession Number:

1A1-SGG-AM-B8

Coordinates:

+51.5025-0.177778

Genre:

architecture (AAT)
memorials (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Paintings & Drawings
Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

built works; monuments; visual works; sculpture (visual work) allegory; decorative arts; human figure; portrait; rulers and leaders; Albert, Prince Consort, consort of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1861

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Addition Module Seven

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
5/3/2007 12:00:00 AM

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4349

OID:

10468653

PID:

digcoll:1838113