Statue

Frieze of Parnassus - Homer

Erection date: 1872

Inscription

Homer

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.

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

Subjects commemorated i

Homer

Ancient Greek poet. Wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, which date from somewhe...

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

Created by i

Henry Hugh Armstead

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

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

Also at this site i

Nearby Memorials

Luke Howard - steel statue

Luke Howard - steel statue

N15, West Green Road, Downhills Park

{On the bench in front of the statues:} Plaque 1: The characters for this Portrait Bench chosen by your community celebrate Sustrans win...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Westminster Abbey H - Esther John

Westminster Abbey H - Esther John

SW1, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster Abbey - west porch

Fourteen niches on the West Front remained empty since the Abbey was built until 1998 when they were filled. The lower four are filled wi...

1 subject commemorated, 4 creators
Livingstone statue

Livingstone statue

SW7, Kensington Gore, Royal Geographic Society

In Kensington Gore façade, on right of picture.  The unveiling ceremony is detailed here (thanks to Jamie Davis for the link).

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
6 Burlington Gardens - Archimedes

6 Burlington Gardens - Archimedes

W1, Burlington Gardens, 6

There are 22 statues on the façade of this building. Each is labelled with his (always 'his') surname. There are 12 at the top up against...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Frieze of Parnassus - Chaucer

Frieze of Parnassus - Chaucer

SW7, Kensington Road

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

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

Basevi at Belgrave Square

Basevi at Belgrave Square

SW1, Belgrave Square

Basevi was the architect who designed the square.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Messrs. Joseph

Messrs. Joseph

Architects who designed the 1935 Brady Settlement building. We wonder if this firm is connected to the Mrs N. S. Joseph who was one of the 1896 founders of the Brady Settlement.

Group, Architecture

1 memorial
Susan Daniel

Susan Daniel

Opera singer. Born London. She continues with an international career, in spite of suffering twice from cancer. Source: Susan Daniel.

Person, Music / songs

1 memorial
V&A façade - Caxton

V&A façade - Caxton

SW7, Cromwell Road

Excluding the allegories (such as Knowledge) there are 36 statues on the two public façades of the V&A Museum, on Exhibition Road and...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Richard Ansdell

Richard Ansdell

W8, St Alban's Grove, 1, Atlantic House

Actually Lytham House is thought to be the tall Victorian building to the west of the low 1950s building.

2 subjects commemorated