Statue

Frieze of Parnassus - Stone

Erection date: 1872

Inscription

Stone

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 - Stone

Subjects commemorated i

Nicholas Stone

Master mason, for George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Other works in Lon...

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

Created by i

John Birnie Philip

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

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

Also at this site i

Nearby Memorials

John Bunyan

John Bunyan

WC1, Southampton Row, 6, Baptist Church House

The statue is dated 1903.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
John Cartwright

John Cartwright

WC1, Cartwright Gardens

Bronze.  This statue, considered Clarke's best work, belongs to the select group of seated London statues - see Peabody.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
George Canning statue

George Canning statue

SW1, Parliament Square, Canning Green

Bronze.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Frieze of Parnassus - Orlando Gibbons

Frieze of Parnassus - Orlando Gibbons

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
Ledley King - steel statue

Ledley King - steel statue

E3, Mile End Park, By the towpath near Haverfield Road

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1 subject commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

C. W. Franklin

C. W. Franklin

Resident of Hendon who served and died in WW2.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
Kenny Sansom

Kenny Sansom

Footballer. Most of his professional career was spent playing for Arsenal Football Club, and until 2011 he was the most capped player for the England team. He went on to play for several other club...

Person, Sport / Games

1 memorial
PP - 4M - Lowdell

PP - 4M - Lowdell

EC1, Edward Street

This garden acquired its name due to its popularity as a lunchtime garden with workers from the nearby General Post Office (long gone). ...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Charles Lightoller

Charles Lightoller

Born Charles Herbert Lightoller in Chorley, Lancashire. He joined the White Star Line in 1900 and served on several ships before being appointed second officer on the Titanic. As the ship was aband...

Person, Armed Forces, Tragedy, Transport

1 memorial
Fish Island

Fish Island

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The plaque is clearly revered and respected by all the local artists. 2020: Our colleague Alan was at this location again and reported h...

1 subject commemorated, 6 creators