Statue

Frieze of Parnassus - Beethoven

Erection date: 1872

Inscription

Beethoven

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

SW7, Kensington Road

The monument, officially titled the Prince Consort National Memorial, celebrates Victorian achievement and Prince Albert's passions and interests. It was 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.

Marble figures representing Europe, Asia, Africa and America stand at each corner of the memorial. Each of these groups comprises an animal typical of that continent and a few noble but stereotypical people from the region.

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.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

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

Subjects commemorated i

Ludwig van Beethoven

Composer. Born (we only have his baptism date) in Bonn (now Germany). His nin...

Read More

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

Created by i

Henry Hugh Armstead

Sculptor and illustrator. Born Bloomsbury. Executed a large number of public ...

Read More

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

Also at this site i

Albert Memorial - Prince Albert

Albert Memorial - Prince Albert

Albert is shown holding the catalogue of the Great Exhibition, held in this p...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Churchill statue - Parliament Square

Churchill statue - Parliament Square

SW1, Parliament Square

12 foot high, bronze. Unveiled by Lady Churchill.

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Colonial Office - S13 - H. Grey

Colonial Office - S13 - H. Grey

SW1, Whitehall, Foreign Office

Statues Hither and Thither has been invaluable in identifying some of the busts and most of the statues. The statues are not labelled and...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
St John of Wapping  - charity girl

St John of Wapping - charity girl

E1, Scandrett Street, 6 - 8

2 subjects commemorated
Public Record Office - Queen Elizabeth I

Public Record Office - Queen Elizabeth I

WC2, Chancery Lane, Maughan Library of King's College, ex-PRO

The first buildings to occupy this site were built in 1232 by Henry III.  The building was known as the Domus Conversorum (the House of C...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Coram statue

Coram statue

WC1, Brunswick Square, Foundling Museum

The base of the statue is inscribed "Wm. MacMillan Sc. 1963". The pose is taken from Hogarth's portrait. Unveiled by Princess Anne.

1 subject commemorated, 4 creators

Previously viewed

Longman's Ship Binding Works

Longman's Ship Binding Works

Thomas Longman (1699-1755) through an inheritance acquired a publishing house, The Ship, in Paternoster Row (the street of book publishers) and shortly after, The Black Swan, next door. Daniel Defo...

Group, Commerce, Craft / Design

1 memorial
Gandhi and Indo-British togetherness trees

Gandhi and Indo-British togetherness trees

WC2, India Place, India House

Nearby India House is the High Commission of India.To the north of the bust two trees have been planted each with a plaque laid into the...

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Sir Osbert Lancaster

Sir Osbert Lancaster

Cartoonist and writer. Son of Robert, grandson of Sir William, he was born at the Notting Hill house with the plaque. At Oxford University he became friends with Betjeman and after art school worke...

Person, Art, Humour

1 memorial