Statue

Frieze of Parnassus - Flaxman

Erection date: 1872

Inscription

Flaxman

Site: Albert Memorial & The Frieze of Parnassus (52 memorials)

SW7, Kensington Road

The monument, commissioned by Queen Victoria and designed by George Gilbert Scott, was built 1864-72, and the statue of Albert was installed in 1875. Even for a Victorian edifice the excess of decoration is extraordinary - we suspect the design suffered mission creep.

On the Frieze of Parnassus are depicted 168 men, 1 woman and two dogs, gender unknown. The woman is Nitocris, a historically questionable pharaoh who, it is claimed, built the third pyramid at Giza.

The men are segregated by field of fame. Reading anticlockwise from the south-west corner: Armstead carved the south and east sides, populated with musicians, poets, musicians, painters, grouped by nationality; Philip carved the north and west sides with architects and sculptors, cleverly arranged chronologically so that the Egyptian architects turn the corner in the same space with Egyptian sculptors.

Remarkably the whole Frieze was carved on site. In the selection of the figures, only one exception to the "must be dead" rule was allowed: George Gilbert Scott himself. Actually only 167 men are represented, one of them twice: Michelangelo as a painter and again as a sculptor. The dogs are Hogarth's Trump and a generic greyhound associated with Veronese.

Normally one cannot get close enough to the Frieze to take satisfactory photos but in May 2017 we joined a tour of the monument which gave us the proximity needed. We photographed all the figures in the Frieze but have decided to publish only (with a few exceptions) those already on London Remembers. Many of the others are little-known outside their field and have no connection to London. See Wikipedia for the entire list and some good photos of the whole Frieze.

The monument has many other figures of an allegorical nature, which are well covered at The Library Time Machine. Another page at the Library Time Machine has some interesting photos of the monument under construction.

Ian Visits managed to get a tour of the usually inaccessible undercroft, the structure that supports this monument.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Frieze of Parnassus - Flaxman

Subjects commemorated i

John Flaxman

Born in York. Neo-classical sculptor.

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Frieze of Parnassus - Flaxman

Created by i

John Birnie Philip

John Birnie Philip was born on 23 November 1824 in London, the third son of t...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Frieze of Parnassus - Flaxman

Also at this site i

Nearby Memorials

Imperial Hotel - statue 12 - Cromwell

Imperial Hotel - statue 12 - Cromwell

WC1, Russell Square

The fur collar, the cap . . . Surely this statue is the man in the Cromwell portrait.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
City of London School 0 - More

City of London School 0 - More

EC4, Victoria Embankment, 60

We've listed the statues left to right across the front of the building, with More all on his lonesome on the west (left) facade.  The 1...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Hannah Brown statue

Hannah Brown statue

N6, Swains Lane

This charming Victorian gothic development of 12 Grade 2 listed homes, completed in 1865 was at the southern extremity of the Holly Lodge...

1 subject commemorated
Hotel Russell - Queen Elizabeth I

Hotel Russell - Queen Elizabeth I

WC1, Russell Square, 1-8

This ornate extravaganza, designed by the splendidly named Fitzroy Doll, was built in 1898. Ornamental Passions has a good post about the...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Kindertransport - Meisler

Kindertransport - Meisler

EC2, Liverpool Street , Hope Square, Liverpool Street Station

Such a sad and touching subject, these children can't fail but bring to mind the many thousands of children who did not survive. The scul...

3 subjects commemorated, 4 creators