Sketch model for the poets and musicians frieze of the Albert Memorial
Model
1864 (made)
1864 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This plaster sketch model in relief is made by Henry Hugh Armstead (b. 1828; d. 1905) in 1864.
It is the original plaster sketch-model for the central section of the south side of the podium of the Albert Memorial. Armstead made these one twelfth-scale models in order to test the content and arrangement of the frieze. A full-size model was then made-up, from which Armstead worked on the marble base of the podium. There are few differences between the model and the finished frieze. The frieze was designed in 1864 and carried out on the monument, in Campanella marble, between 1866 and 1872. The north and west friezes, representing Architects and Sculptors, are by John Birnie-Philip.
Francis Haskell and Stephen Bayley have suggested that the two sculptors were allowed considerable freedom in selecting the figures to be represented and deciding how they should be arranged (Armstead arranged the figures on both his friezes in groups according to geographical schools, whereas Philip arranged the Architects and Sculptors chronologically). However, George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the memorial, must have given the sculptors some guidance, they worked under the control of the Memorial Committee and Sir Charles Eastlake was appointed to advise on all artistic matters relating to the treatment of the frieze by the Queen in 1864.
These friezes were probably influenced by Paul Delaroche's murals in the Amphithéâtre in the Hemicycle at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris (1836-41), which depicts sixty-six artists from Classical Greece up to the age of Louis XIV grouped around Ictinus, Phidias and Apelles. Armstead's notebooks, in the Royal Academy archive, show that undertook a great deal of detailed research in order to produce, as far as possible, physiognomically accurate portraits.
It is the original plaster sketch-model for the central section of the south side of the podium of the Albert Memorial. Armstead made these one twelfth-scale models in order to test the content and arrangement of the frieze. A full-size model was then made-up, from which Armstead worked on the marble base of the podium. There are few differences between the model and the finished frieze. The frieze was designed in 1864 and carried out on the monument, in Campanella marble, between 1866 and 1872. The north and west friezes, representing Architects and Sculptors, are by John Birnie-Philip.
Francis Haskell and Stephen Bayley have suggested that the two sculptors were allowed considerable freedom in selecting the figures to be represented and deciding how they should be arranged (Armstead arranged the figures on both his friezes in groups according to geographical schools, whereas Philip arranged the Architects and Sculptors chronologically). However, George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the memorial, must have given the sculptors some guidance, they worked under the control of the Memorial Committee and Sir Charles Eastlake was appointed to advise on all artistic matters relating to the treatment of the frieze by the Queen in 1864.
These friezes were probably influenced by Paul Delaroche's murals in the Amphithéâtre in the Hemicycle at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris (1836-41), which depicts sixty-six artists from Classical Greece up to the age of Louis XIV grouped around Ictinus, Phidias and Apelles. Armstead's notebooks, in the Royal Academy archive, show that undertook a great deal of detailed research in order to produce, as far as possible, physiognomically accurate portraits.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Sketch model for the poets and musicians frieze of the Albert Memorial (named collection) |
Materials and techniques | Modelled plaster |
Brief description | Model relief, plaster, for the poets and musicians frieze of the Albert Memorial, by Henry Hugh Armstead, England, London, 1864 |
Physical description | The plaster model for the frieze of poets and musicians for the south side of the Albert Memorial. In the centre is Homer, seated playing a lyre, between Dante and Shakespeare. On the left Pythagoras, Virgil, Cervantes, Moliere, Corneille, St. Ambrose and Guido d'Arrezzo are represented. Chaucer, Milton, Goethe, Schiller Bach, Gluck and Handel are depicted on the right hand side. |
Dimensions |
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Production type | Unique |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Given by Mrs. Sarah Armstead |
Object history | The original plaster sketch-model for the central section of the south side of the podium of the Albert Memorial. Armstead made this one twelfth scale model in order to test the content and arrangement of the frieze. A full-size model was then made-up, from which Armstead worked on the marble base of the podium. There are few differences between the model and the finished frieze. The frieze was designed in 1864 and carried out on the monument, in Campanella marble, between 1866 and 1872. The north and west friezes, representing Architects and Sculptors, are by John Birnie-Philip. Francis Haskell and Stephen Bayley have suggested that the two sculptors were allowed considerable freedom in selecting the figures to be represented and deciding how they should be arranged (Armstead arranged the figures on both his friezes in groups according to geographical schools, wheras Philip arranged the Architects and Sculptors chronologically). However, George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the memorial, must have given the sculptors some guidance, they worked under the control of the Memorial Committee and Sir Charles Eastlake was appointed to advise on all artistic matters relating to the treatment of the frieze by the Queen in 1864. These friezes were probably influenced by Paul Delaroche's murals in the Amphithéâtre in the Hemicycle at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris (1836-41), which depicts sixty-six artists from Classical Greece up to the age of Louis XIV grouped around Ictinus, Phidias and Apelles. Armstead's notebooks, in the Royal Academy archive, show that undertook a great deal of detailed research in order to produce, as far as possible, physiognomically accurate portraits. Given by Mrs. Sarah Armstead. |
Production | Attribution note: sketch-model |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This plaster sketch model in relief is made by Henry Hugh Armstead (b. 1828; d. 1905) in 1864. It is the original plaster sketch-model for the central section of the south side of the podium of the Albert Memorial. Armstead made these one twelfth-scale models in order to test the content and arrangement of the frieze. A full-size model was then made-up, from which Armstead worked on the marble base of the podium. There are few differences between the model and the finished frieze. The frieze was designed in 1864 and carried out on the monument, in Campanella marble, between 1866 and 1872. The north and west friezes, representing Architects and Sculptors, are by John Birnie-Philip. Francis Haskell and Stephen Bayley have suggested that the two sculptors were allowed considerable freedom in selecting the figures to be represented and deciding how they should be arranged (Armstead arranged the figures on both his friezes in groups according to geographical schools, whereas Philip arranged the Architects and Sculptors chronologically). However, George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the memorial, must have given the sculptors some guidance, they worked under the control of the Memorial Committee and Sir Charles Eastlake was appointed to advise on all artistic matters relating to the treatment of the frieze by the Queen in 1864. These friezes were probably influenced by Paul Delaroche's murals in the Amphithéâtre in the Hemicycle at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris (1836-41), which depicts sixty-six artists from Classical Greece up to the age of Louis XIV grouped around Ictinus, Phidias and Apelles. Armstead's notebooks, in the Royal Academy archive, show that undertook a great deal of detailed research in order to produce, as far as possible, physiognomically accurate portraits. |
Associated objects | |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | 178-1906 |
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Record created | November 10, 1999 |
Record URL |
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