Sculpture In Victorian Era

The Victorian era was a golden age for sculpture. Sculpture could be found everywhere in Victorian Britain: in galleries, museums, and great exhibitions; in homes, parks, gardens and city squares. [1]

As Britain became the first urban and industrial nation in the Victorian era, it witnessed a boom in sculpture with the development of new markets, forms of patronage and sites for display. Professor Hatt, from Warwick’s Department of History of Art, said: “During the reign of Queen Victoria, public monuments were raised across Britain and its empire, while ambitious sculptural programmes were commissioned for public institutions. Exhibition spectaculars, such as the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, brought thousands of sculptural objects before audiences of millions.” [2]

Though the Victorian Era of art began with a return to the classic realism which was popular during the height of ancient Roman and Greek societies, the many technological advances made during that time caused changes in the way scientists, artists and the public viewed art and aesthetics. [3]

Among the most important sculptors: John Gibson, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, Richard C. Belt, Sir Francis Chantrey, George Frampton, Sir Alfred Gilbert, Thomas Longmore and John Hénk, Hamo Thornycroft, Thomas Wilkinson Wallis, Richard Westmacott, Thomas Woolner, Edward Hodges Baily, Thomas Brock, and Harry Bates. [4]

Byron Statue, Hyde Park, London, by Richard C. Belt, 1881.

Achilles by Richard Westmacott at Hyde Park Corner, London, 1822.

Sir Edwin Landseer, Lion, Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, 1867.

The statue of Horatio Nelson by Edward Hodges Baily, 1843, Trafalgar Square, London.

See also[edit]

Statue of Eros (Anteros) by Sir Alfred Gilbert, 1893.

• Victorian paintings
• Victorian Architecture
• British Empire

Victoria Memorial by Thomas Brock, unveiled on 16 May 1911.

External links[edit]

John Stuart Mill statue by Thomas Woolner, 1878, Temple Gardens, London.

• The Art of Sculpture in Victorian Britain.
• Bob Speel's Website - A Selection of Iconic Sculpture in London.
• Queen Victoria Memorial.

Comedy and Tragedy by Sir Alfred Gilbert, ca. 1890–2, Tate.

Statue of Queen Victoria in the Great Hall, Winchester Castle by Sir Alfred Gilbert, 1887.