Statue

Frieze of Parnassus - Donatello

Erection date: 1872

Inscription

Donatello

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 - Donatello

Subjects commemorated i

Donatello

Sculptor.

Read More

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

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 - Donatello

Also at this site i

Nearby Memorials

Sir Hans Sloane statue - Duke of York Sq

Sir Hans Sloane statue - Duke of York Sq

SW3, Duke of York Square

The site is the former Duke of York’s barracks. It was vacated by the Territorial Army in 2003 and redeveloped to include a public square...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Samuel Bevington statue

Samuel Bevington statue

SE1, Queen Elizabeth Street

The Bevington statue is protected by some nice original railings which seem still to display their original coat of committee green paint.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Gurkha soldier

Gurkha soldier

SW1, Horse Guards Avenue

Unveiled by the Queen. Modelled by Jackson on the 1929 statue by Goulden in the Foreign Office.

War dead | WW1
23 subjects commemorated, 4 creators
Sherlock Holmes statue

Sherlock Holmes statue

NW1, Baker Street Station

{On the plinth - front:} The great detective. {On the plinth - left:} This statue, commissioned by the Sherlock Holmes Society of Lond...

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Burlington House - Michelangelo

Burlington House - Michelangelo

W1, Piccadilly, Royal Academy

This building is commonly known as the Royal Academy (of Arts). The wings of the building are occupied by a number of learned societies, ...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

Burt Kwouk

Burt Kwouk

Actor. Born Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk in Warrington whilst his parents were visiting the UK, was brought up in Shanghai, moving to Hong Kong after the Chinese revolution. Arriving in Britain in 1949, ...

Person, Cinema, TV & Radio, China/Hong Kong

1 memorial
New Cross V2 attack

New Cross V2 attack

The rocket landed on the Woolworth's building at 12.44pm It was a sunny Saturday and many people were out shopping. There were rumours that Woolworth's were selling saucepans (which were in short s...

Event, Tragedy

4 memorials
Ralph Vaughan Williams - NW1

Ralph Vaughan Williams - NW1

NW1, Hanover Terrace, 10

Ralph Vaughan Williams O.M. 1872 - 1958 composer, lived here from 1953 until his death. Greater London Council

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator