Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Albert Memorial

G.G. Scott won the competition to design this memorial to Queen Victoria's late husband in 1863. It is located in London's Kensington Gardens, just to the north of the Royal Albert Hall and not far from the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.


The cartoons for the eight exterior spandrels, four triangular gables, and the interior of the dome were painted by J.R. Clayton, which Salviati decorated with 1,200 sq ft of Venetian mosaic.



South facade - Poetry


East facade - Painting


North facade - Architecture


West facade - Sculpture

Albert was a great patron of the arts and the gables depict enthroned allegorical figures of Painting, Sculpture, Poetry, and Architecture, while the spandrels shows the artists at work in those fields.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 18-20.
Wikimedia Commons Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0
Monceau's flickr Photostream
Photosecrets
Losing It

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