Thea Hyde Unit 3 Public Art

What is Public Art? Public Art is part of our history and our culture. It is artwork that has been commissioned and designed for the general public to be able to access, not necessarily meaning it is placed outdoors but accessible for everyone. It is used to transform or improve the environment specifically commissioned for the community, with its surroundings almost becoming part of the artwork itself. Some pieces are made to dominate an environment whereas others are made to blend in. There are many factors that artists creating public art have to take in to account such as where it is going to be placed, if it is going to be outside then they need to take in to account the weather conditions and the material they will be using. They also need to figure out how much space they have so they can know the height and width of the sculpture. Finally, they need to know who their audience is and whether there is a specific target audience.

Public Art comes in a variety of different forms and shapes. Examples of this include decorative art, sculpture, photography, architecture, moving images and events. You can find public art anywhere in the public domain. Public art also very much focusses on the individuality and the talent of the artist and how they can either improve the space they are given or even redevelop it giving it a new meaning. Also, community buildings such as schools, shopping centres, hospitals and sports complexes can all accommodate public art such as textiles and furnishings. You can find it permanently integrated in to the rural environment on large scales. However, some of these pieces of Public Art are unfortunately damaged or stolen and just left with elements.

Who is Public Art for?

Public art is usually sponsored by a variety of different public agencies. The word ‘Public’ is very much associated with the lower/working class society e.g. public schools, public housing and public transport. Whereas the word ‘private’ is associated with the more privileged and upper class e.g. private schools and private transport.

Public Art, however, is for anyone. It causes controversy due to the difference of people’s opinions on the work. Having a variety of different opinions is inevitable and also healthy, the art is getting noticed and appreciated rather than being ignored.

What is Art for?

As the society we live in evolves objects such as Public art carry significant meanings or messages and are usually used to celebrate either a person or an event, or commemorate a certain date or event. Some have religious or social significance and isn’t necessarily appealing to all the community, again, causing controversy. Sculptures and other landmarks provide tourists with areas of cultural interests as many have been there for centuries. An example of this is the Uffington

White horse in Wiltshire, this horse has mysterious meaning and transformed an ordinary space into something meaningful.

Artists try to give meaning to certain spaces by the use of imagery, showing us different emotions and allowing us to alter our perception of what we may feel is unimportant to us.

When an artist is commissioned to make a piece of Public Art they try to surprise the public and create something the public have never seen before. At first it often gets criticized only till later when it begins to be appreciated and loved for what it is. We all interpret art in different ways.

Antony Garmley’s ‘Angel of the North’ as originally attacked and frowned upon, however, it is now loved by people who first hated it.

Swindon Borough Councils Policy.

Since 1988 Swindon Borough Council have been commissioning public art all over the area including the town centre, hospitals, residential areas, the Museum of the Great Western Railway and many others.

The Councils public Art policy used a principle called ‘Percent for Art’ – this policy was used to be able to give recognition to the artists and how they can enhance and recreate empty spaces in the public domain. By creating this policy it allowed outside artists and local artists to engage in making art for the community and maximising opportunities for them as artists.

‘Percent for Art’ was introduced by the Arts Council of England in 1988 and is now established in more than 200 local authorities, development corporations and National trusts, in a variety of towns and cities where normal practice is for at least 1% of the capital costs to be allocated for public art.

Robert Carnwath, QC, on behalf of the Arts Council of England when advocated for Percent for Art being adopted by local authorities stated “The local planning authority will, in appropriate cases, encourage new works of art as part of schemes of development and, in determining applications for planning permission, will have regarded to the contribution made by such art works to the appearance of the

scheme and to the amenities of the area� (Carnwath R 2004 as citied by Carrington C 2004).

The idea of this policy allows and encourages developers to allocate a percentage of the capital costs of any new architecture, refurbishment and landscaping scheme towards the production of works of public art.

The Wiltshire town of Swindon is surrounded in prehistory from the Uffington White Horse to the Avebury circle. The Old Town has origins of a Roman Village, later becoming the home of the famous Great Western Railways and most recently the car industry. The sculptures around the town draw mainly on the heritage of the town and the unique features of the town.

John Clinch was born in Folkstone, Kent studying Fine Art at Kingston School of Art in 1951-1955, and then moved on to study Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, 1957-1961.

Clinch was very much described as a reserved and calm man. In his early career he trained to be an accountant in London, which is when he discovered his love and talent for Art. Contemporaries from his time at Kingston and Royal College of Art remember his lyrical skill in modelling and drawing. Following this, he had the opportunity to travel round France and Italy. On his return to England he took up part time teaching at places such as Camberwell and Colchester. He carried on teaching around Art schools and also exhibiting his work widely around Europe.

There are a variety of artworks situated around the town such as: Diana Dors (John Clinch, 1991) – Shaw Ridge, Leisure Park.

The Diana Dors statue was created in 1991

by John Clinch and it depicts the elegant film star Diana Dors who was born in Swindon in 1931. The statue is made out of bronze allowing the artist to create detail and personal characteristics. Bronze can be cast in to shapes that require less structural support than materials such as marble or stone.

The properties of bronze also made the sculpture expand whilst cooling.

The Blondins (John Clinch).

This statue was created from the remaining pieces of metal from the Great Western Railway works in Swindon. John Clinch was commissioned to create the statue in the 1980’s by the current council. For many years the sculpture stood in Wharf Green, in the seating area in the Brunel Centre, in Swindon.

However, in 2005 the statue was badly vandalised and was restored by local artist Tim Carroll. It was also moved to a new location in St. Marks Park, Gorsehill. It is now currently a feature in a children’s playground.

The Blondins were known for performing at circuses around Swindon in the 1920’s. The statue was designed to symbolise the gathering of people for events such as festivals and fairs.

John Clinch ‘His wish you were here’ 1983.

This is a colourful sculpture by clinch featuring holiday makers by the seaside. It shows a man in a vest with a beer can clenched in his arm, whilst a women is leaning over the barrier trying to get someone’s attention and a younger girl with a cap and yellow t shirt on pointing at something in the distance.

John Clinch ‘People like us’. 1993.

This bronze cast sculpture depicts a young couple and their dog. The sculpture is to celebrate the working people in Cardiff docks during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The left arm of the women is pointing over across the water to almost suggest that she is thinking about the possibilities for the future their life.

The Golden Lion The Golden Lion can be found down Canal walk in the heart of Swindon Town centre. The Lion is made out of cement and is a replica of the Lion that stood on the Golden Lion pub on the canal and was

recreated by local sculptures. It was made in 1977 the year of the Queens silver jubilee.

There is also a Golden Lion Bridge mural. Swindon muralist and artrist Ken white painted this mural on the side of a house by the Whale Bridge roundabout, on a job creation programme in 1976.

The Watchers (Carleton Attwood, 1982).

Toothill Village Centre.

This sculpture is one of the Carleton’s last works and was mainly completed by sculptor Pat Elmore. The sculpture was cast in Ferroconcentrate at Swindon’s town hall studios, it represents the new community of Swindon and was offered as a gift to the residents of Toothill.

Henry Moore.

Henry Moore (1891-1986) is a very well-known British sculptor of the 20th century by receiving world-wide fame through many of his popular commissions. Moore’s work became known as ‘modern art’ and he was celebrated by the public for his work. Due to Moore’s connection with a man called Jacob Epstein who is an American-born British sculptor who helped to pioneer modern sculpture, Moore was given the opportunity to put his work into the Public realm.

Henry Moore was born in Castleford in Yorkshire, he was the seventh of eight children. It is known that Henry wanted to be a sculptor from the early age of eleven after hearing stories about the very famous and talented Michelangelo at Sunday school.

During the First World War Moore served in France in the Civil Service Regiment. He was unfortunately a victim within a gas attack in 1917 leading him to have to leave in 1919 and was awarded a veterans grant to study.

Moore started by training to be a teacher before moving on to artworks and sculptures studying at Leeds School of Art, where he met Dame Barbara Hepworth. In 1921, Moore then gained a scholarship to study at Royal College of Arts in London where he began to specialise and research pre-Columbian, African and oceanic sculptures.

Moore’s education in sculpture and art allowed him to practice classical techniques such as clay and plaster. He used these mediums on a large scale using classical plaster cast for his sculptures. However, Moore started to believe that these methods were outdated and decided to use a method called “direct carving” which is using traditional materials such as wood and stone. He wanted to make his artwork look unfinished, which is definitely identifiable with the use of the claw chisel marks left visible on his sculptures, which very much contrasted with the smoothness of the skin in traditional classical sculptures. He also believed that once you picked a certain medium such as stone to work in, that the stone came much more

important than what the stone was actually supposed to depict.

Moore was most known due to how he understood art in its most uncomplicated and simple form. He was influenced by many artists before him, allowing him to gain inspiration and development as a sculptor. He was very much influenced by European Modernists such as Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Hans Arp who all added to Moore’s manipulated expressions of the human form in an abstract approach. Moore was also very much influenced by a movement called Constructivism, this is a movement where mechanical objects are combined into abstract mobile forms. He was also very influenced by Surrealism, this is a style that uses visual imagery from the subconscious mind to create art without the intention of logical comprehensibility. These movements and artists made him appreciate the abstract form and allowed him to explore the human figure and its essential fragmented parts.

Moore’s earlier works were mainly front facing unlike his later work where he began to explore different angles and how the viewer could perceive the sculpture. It is suggested that his earlier works are very much influenced by Egyptian sculptures. After exploring different angles, he was very interested in moving on to three-dimensional models which the public would be able to see from whatever angle they wanted to. Moore wanted to do this because he wanted the viewers to be able to fully understand the piece of art and view it from all possible angles.

He started to look at more primitive art for inspiration for his own work, and started to look at reclining figures from Mexican cultures, he focused on the Aztec reclining figures which signify and relate to the War Chacmool 900-1000AD, although this sculpture was made for sacrificial rituals it doesn’t actually show any emotion or brutality associated with it. Moore very much focused on this source for his sculpture of the reclining women. His mother and child figures displayed something very powerful, he recreated it over and over again tackling many problems. He eventually refined the sculptures to their abstract forms to emulate the human bond that a mother and her child would usually have.

This figure was found at the Temple of the warriors and has been carved from a single block of Pleistocene lime-stone. The figure represents a human figure reclined backwards with their head facing 90 degrees from the front. The figure is supporting itself by leaning on their elbows with a disk upon its stomach, which could suggest that they are sacrificing something to the gods. As you can see the figures legs are bent, also the torso of the figure is a bird wing shield. Also, there are fragments of this figure which suggest that at one point the whole sculpture was covered in paint.

Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure 1929 Henry more was very talented in how he was able to manipulate stone. The ‘Reclining figure’ is made from a stone called Brown Horton which is mainly sourced from quarries in North West of Oxfordshire. Instance stone has a very low tensile strength so it isn’t strong enough and could very easily be broken.

“It is the first figure I did in Brown Horton stone in 1929 influenced by the Mexican Sculpture, particularly by the Chac-Mool figure. I realised now where the influence was, but it is very different. Except for the turn of the head, the figure is a symmetrical figure of which both sides are the same, the two legs are exactly in the same position, where in my Horton stone figure there is a big difference, a big change and it also began to have something that my sculpture until then hadn’t had, it began to have forms which really existed and worked against each other and with each other rather than one solid mass that was all crushed and stuck together. This had a freedom and yet kept stormy strength and I knew when I finished it that it was the best sculpture I had done up to then” Henry Moore quoted in lonel Jlanou, Henry Moore, translated by Geoggry Skelding, Arted, Paris, pp.28-9

Henry Moore’s Old Flo.

Old Flo by Henry Moore is an abstract sculpture that has links to the female human form. As you can see in the images, the forms are very out of proportion as you can see the head is significantly smaller than the rest of the body. The arms of the figure are incredibly slim in proportion to the body and in contrast to this both of the legs are quite extensive in comparison. Also, there is very little expression or characteristics of the sculpture as there is no expression or detail on the face. The modelling of the sculpture has allowed the sculptor to create smoother shapes for the arms and legs, the clothing the sculpture is wearing drapes just over the knees, but has no obvious neck line. The torso of the figure faces forward whereas the head and feet are set on an angle apart from each other.

Moore most likely chose bronze to build the sculpture due to its high tensile strength allows an open format, it is also very durable so is very helpful as it is outside.

Who owns Old Flo? Henry Moore first wanted Old Flo to be shown for the public, however, Tower Hamlets Council planned to sell the sculpture to raise money for its budget deficit.

Old Flo was made in link to the disaster that happened on Wednesday 3rd March 1943 “The Bethnal Green Tube Shelter Disaster”. 173 people died in the bomb shelter due to people getting crushed. One women with a child slipped on a step, and others began to follow and also fall. It was known as the most deadly civilian incident of World War 2.

It is suggested that Old Flo represents the strong women of World War 2 waiting in Bomb shelters. At first, the sculpture was given as a gift to the Stifford Estate in East London, but since then has been on a loan to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park for the past 16 years. However, in 2012 Mayor Lutfur Rahman made a decision that many disagreed with, to sell Old Flo to raise funds for the Council. As he stated “It is with considerable regret that I make this decision but I have a duty to ensure residents do not suffer the brunt of the horrendous cuts being imposed on us” – Lurfur Rahman, Mayor of Tower Hamlets.

However, due to many disagreeing with Lurfur Rahman the sale of Old Flo has been delayed. The London Borough of Bromley has written to the Tower Hamlets explaining how they own it, as it was only on loan to Yorkshire. It is said that the sculpture remained the property of GLC until its dissolution in 1985 and was then transferred to Bromley, and currently the borough is currently in a legal battle with Bromley Council over who owns the sculpture.

“This sculpture must remain in public ownership which is line with the original principles of Henry Moore himself.” “ The idea that selling this internationally recognised sculpture will somehow tackle

the financial situation facing Tower Hamlets is flawed. Local authorities need to face financial reality and look at the longer term challenges.”

The artist Bob and Roberta Smith, also known as Patrick Bill and other artists and friends led a flash mob-style protest in Tower Hamlets council headquarters on the 12th November 2012. The campaign was all about being against selling Old Flo, which more sold to Tower Hamlets in 1962 for £7400. Due to a demolition happening in the housing estate where it was placed, it was moved to Yorkshire to stop it getting vandalised.

The photos show Jessica Voorsanger who is an American performance artist who is dressed as Henry Moore on the right. All the other protestors are dressed in green to copy Old Flo, whilst posing with banners exclaiming Old Flo is “NOT FOR SALE”.

“Hitler destroyed the East End, Henry Moore, with others, rebuilt it and now a council who seem ignorant of the areas less recent past is selling off its principle monument to peace. For me it is like smashing up a war memorial. Moore’s shelter drawings were the inspiration for this period of his work. It is terrible that the borough where scores of people died during the war in a tube station air raid shelter in Bethnal Green does not have the imagination to see how wonderful Old Flo is a symbol of our humanity. Old Flo is an East End survivor. She is a generous and defiant image. She is so clearly drawn from Moore’s war artist work. Sitting on her plinth I imagine her to be taking air after some horrible near suffocation. The Major of Tower Hamlets should take a trip to Harlow and witness how amazing this kind of sculpture is not only for its formal values but for what it represents. Artists like Liz Frink, and Barbara Hepworth wanted their art in Public spaces because in the past war era people equated public space with freedom. It was in that era that the NHS

was conceived and our institutions were made meritocratic and democratic. In 2010 Chris Stevens at Tate Britain curated a great show looking at Moore’s relationship with past war culture. My god that was some history lesson but obviously one which councillors of Tower Hamlets did not heed or even care about” – Bob and Roberta Smith.

Barbara Hepworth.

Barbara Hepworth was born in Yorkshire, she loved the nature and the undulating hills, and it gave her inspiration for her natural forms which were consistent throughout all her works.

Hepworth was always very keen on her sculptures being placed in the public open air, because she believed they were able to breathe out here and be animated and portrayed in different ways from different viewpoints and the changing of daylight and weather. Very similar to Moore, she also created shapes by using movement, tone, colours and negative space. She began by travelling to Siena, Florence, Spain and Italy to study painting.

Once she was in Italy she became very drawn to direct carving. In 1930, she married an abstract painter Ben Nicholson, and they travelled to Paris and met artists such as Pablo Picasso, Hans Herp and Constantine Brancusi. From then, she was drawn to the modernist movement, very much like Moore. Her public sculptures can be viewed all over the World.

“You can climb thorugh the Divided Circle – you don’t need to do it physically to experience it”. -Barbara Hepworth.

One of Hepworth’s works was stolen from Dulwich Park, suspected to be taken by scrap metal thieves in the South London area. This sculpture was called “Two Forms” also known as the Divided Circle, was cut from its plinth overnight. The sculpture was made out of two vertical bronze semi circles which formed an overall broken circle that was 6ft 7in tall. All three elements of the sculpture are hollow and were cast in London by a man called Morris Singer. The sculpture had been placed in the park since 1970, and was considered one of Britain’s most recognisable works. It was one of Hepworth’s late works as it was made only 5 years before her passing away in 1975. Hepworth wanted the viewer’s body to be engaged within her work.

The History of Art Paper.

24th September 2015.

WILL WE BE SAYING GOOD BYE TO OLD FLO? Is Public Art something that the working class can unfortunately no longer afford?

The Mayor of the London borough of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman is currently making the decision on whether the beautiful work of Art known as Old Flo will be up for sale due to financial problems within the Borough.

He has already declared that his intentions are to sell the sculpture due to the deficit within the council, but he knows he will have to consider the views of the council’s overview. Henry Moore’s Old Flo which is also known as the “Draped Seated Women” is to sell to the highest bidder, to fill the financial problems by government spending cuts. Councillor Shahed Ali earlier told the BBC that it is an “uninsurable” sculpture, especially at a time like today when large bronze sculptures can sometimes be at risk of theft. He went on to state that “we’d love to keep it in the borough” but there are many issues with keeping it.

At this current time, with many cuts taking place in this poor area, there is the argument that the money could be spent elsewhere on something much more useful to the people of Tower Hamlets. It is said that it could cut off all cultural funding’s completely.

This proposal has infuriated many, one of those being Henry Moore’s daughter Mary, Danny Boyle who is the hero of the Olympic Opening ceremony, and also MP Rushanara Ali. In a letter that was sent to the Observer today, it states that it “goes against the spirit” of artist Henry Moore, who sent it to the London County Council at a price of only £6,000 – far below its

value. What the sculpture should show to the people of Tower Hamlets is the “belief that everyone, whatever their background, should have access to works of art of the highest quality”.

When Old Flo was first placed at Tower Hamlets Moore exclaimed that he was “delighted” that his sculpture would be the centre piece of the estate.

Boyle says that “It represents everything I believe in”. The Draped Seated Women is showing that nothing was too good for ordinary people. To follow through with this and sell the sculpture would not only be “a betrayal of working class heritage” states Rushanara Ali but also betraying Moore’s generosity with the sculpture. Would this not make people wonder if they should ever donate or offer anything to a local authority again if this is to happen?

Equestrian Statue

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Equestrian statues were and still are very expensive to make, this is due to the amount of material (bronze) that is lost within the max method of it being made. However, it is an imposing genre. It aims to glorify and give a status to the person on the horseback. The horse stands on thin legs, whilst the person on the horse would be heavy is a testament to the artists who created them. They were usually used for their sheer beauty and graceful antiquity. The horse has inspired both ancient and modern representations in art, especially playing a prominent and important role within the ancient Greek world.

Archaic Greek Statue of a Horse 510 BC

Parthenon, west frieze, showing a horse rubbing her head, 442-438 BC

As we can see the horses played a massive part throughout ancient Greek art, shown in these sculptures.

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius by Michelangelo 16th emperor, bronze, c.165 ad, Rome.

In 161 AD, Aurelius and his brother Verus, both took control of the Roman Empire. In this statue his stance on his horse indicates his peaceful ideas. Aurelius was well known for his stoic meditations, reason and self-restraint and a philosophy that emphasized fate.

In 160’s, conflict began. His reign was marked by war and disease. He warred with the Parthian Empire (better known as Iran) to gain control over the lands in the East. The war was called the Parthian War. Aurelius’ brother Verus oversaw the war effort whilst Aurelius stayed in Rome. Soldiers that returned from the war brought diseases back with them to Rome. They lingered about for years and wiped out a portion of Romes population. Once the Parthian war had ended, In 160 AD Aurelius and his brother then had to face another military conflict in German tribes.

However, he is not best remembered for these wars but for his contemplative nature and his rule driven by reason.

The statue is a multi-figure statue with an irregular silhouette. The figure isn’t engaging with the viewer, and the upward composition raises the status of the figure. The figure is able to gain this upward composition due to bronze having a high tensile strength which is evident within the statue. There are no fixed viewpoints, with complex negative space. The figure has an open palm on right hand elevates status, as well as the open mouthed horse.

This would have been created through the lost wax process with multiple casts. Due to it being bronze it’ll have high tensile strength and large projection. It also allows Michelangelo to create detail and realism. It leaves it with a rich brown shiny finish which emphasizes on the curves. The deep recessed lines on the robe would have been very difficult to achieve using the reductive process. The anatomy of the horse makes it so lifelike. Wonderful and momentary, almost timeless as the horse is striding and in motion.

Donatello relief on the Orsanmichele The Orsanmichele is a guild church which was built in 1337-80, niches contain statues of each guilds patrons saint. However, only major guilds were allowed to use bronze for their statue.

Orsanmichele is a church in Florence, the church was originally built as a grain market in 1337, but in 1380 and 1404 it was converted and used as a chapel for Florence’s craft and trade guilds. In the late 14th century, the guilds then commissioned statues of their patron saints into the small areas of the building.

Orsanmichele’s public commissions shows the pride and devotion of the Florentine trade.

Each trade wanted to outdo each other trying to commission original sculptures for public display in Florence’s most important street. However, only a few of these guilds complied. In 1406, it resulted in the city council setting a ten-year deadline for these obligations, creating a massive rush of commissions.

The Republic of Florence as well as the guilds wanted to recreate cities such as Rome and Greece. These two cities used art to demonstrate harmony in their society.

The guilds commissioned the most known artists of the period, a very famous one is Ghiberti’s St. John the Baptist, 1414-16. By Donatello’s St. George, 1216.

The following Public art in renaissance Florence on the Orsanmichele.

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Ghiberti. St John the Baptist (c.1412-14) Ghiberti St Matthew (1419-22) Donatello St George (c.1415-17) Donatello St Mark (1411-13)

Ghiberti St John the Bapist, Bronze, height: 254cm Orsanmichele, Florence. This sculpture was cast in one piece and created for the Cloth Merchants Guild. The statue has very defined gothic features, as it wears drapey clothing that hides the forms body underneath it.

Due to the large-scale of the work and that it was cast in one piece was very difficult to execute, it was only to be moved at the sculptor’s risk.

Donatello, St George, 1414, Marble, height 214cm.

In 1414, the Arte dei Corazzai also known as the Guild of Armourers, ordered a marble statue from Donatello for Orsanmichele of their patron, St George. The statue is balanced on the balls of his feet, with a clenched and firm right hand that shows a hole in suggests there was once a weapon there, most likely a metal sword. The statue shows St George as a man of great importance as the artist uses the technique known as rilievo stiacciato, also known as flattened relief. This statue was placed in a niche on the north wall of Orsanmichele, until 1416 when executed.

In the late 1410’s to 1420’s Donatello planned a method of carving. The carving was seen as almost drawing it was a very shallow relief, this is the technique rilievo schiacciato. The depth of about 10 to 20mm, the sculpture conveyed as much greater

imaginary depth by only very slight indentions on the surface of the marble, we see this in St George and the Dragon.

St George and the Dragon (1417).

This is St George and the Dragon, 1417. Marble. 39x120cm.The linear perspective was also used to imply depth in the blind arcade at the right. The process of bronze casting was difficult and very expensive; therefore painters began to recreate the equestrian monuments in fresco.

This leads to the Castagna fresco also in the Duomo in Florence: Paolo, Equestrian Portrait of Sir John Hawkswood.

1436. Fresco, transferred to canvas.

Duomo Cathedral, Florence, Italy.

This canvas is depicting the English condottiere (paid soldier) (c.1320-94) Two viewpoints are used: the horse and rider are seen as if on a level with the viewer, but the sarcophagus is seen sharply below them.

Uccello developed an interest in perspective under the influence of Masiaccio’s work. He wanted to develop the new science of perspective within painting.

Finally, this brings me on to the Equestrian statue of Gattalemata:

Donatello. Equestrian statue of the Condottierre Gattamelata 1446-1450 Padua.

This statue is Bronze on a marble plinth, height of the status 340cm.

Gattamelata which is translated as “The Honeyed Cat” was a captain and good friend to Cosimo de’Medici. He was famous condottieri. Donatello has altered the Florentine interpretations such by Ucello and has put them in modern costumes. The bare headed Gattalmata has no helmet, recalling Marcus Aurelius.

Donatello has given him an idealised face to show off the soliders many victories. His facial features are very prominent as his mouth and chin are very tensed. This is due to Donatello trying to emphasize the soldiers inner nature and intelligence.

The statue is cast in Bronze from an original model of clay or plaster. The composition of the statue has vertical and horizontal axes, with dark colours. It is to a life-size scale with monumental meaning, shown through the intricate detail and naturalism to it. It is an urban sculpture due to it being higher than the eye level.

By using bronze casting it allows the subject to be detailed and put in to a particular colour.

The subject is worthy of expensive bronze monument. Also, the tensile strength of the bronze allows equestrian subject to support the weight, which would be impossible if carved in stone. Also, could emphasize on the effect of the weight, power and presence. It is set against a building of importance, again, reinforcing the importance of the subject. Again, the statue is above eye level showing the importance of the subject.

The comparison of Andrea’s Tolentino with Paolo Uccello’s Sir John Hawkswood.

Uccello froze the horse and its rider into a static composition of rigid geometric precision.

However, Andrea expresses the tension and movement of the horse. I personally prefer to see the movement and the tension of the horse rather than a static composition.

My Personal Opinion on the Equestrian Frescos.

My personal opinion is that they are set high above the publics heads as they are displaying all their glory as public art in the Duomo of the Florence Cathedral. They are balanced on pedestals glorifying the heroic act of the Condottiere seen here above structured by perspectives for a perfect view from below. Both styles have the same focal point of the horse and the rider, however, Uccello has frozen the horse and the rider into a static composition of rigged geometric precision, whereas Andrea has expressed through tension and movement of his fresco all the restless and vitality of his spirit. I personally prefer Andrea’s fresco as I believe it shows the horse and rider in a different perspective; I love the naturalistic look of the horse and the rider. However, Uccello’s hors and the rider have been created with a strong chiaroscuro.

The Absolute monarchy depiction of Charles 1st with his history.

Absolute Monarchies require symbols. Usually these equestrian statues have deteriorated over time because as the king leaves they tent to destroy any remaining memory of him.

However, this example is unique.

Hubert Le Sueur 1580-1658. Equestrian sculpture of Charles I. 1633: at Charing Cross, London.

In 1640’s a civil war began between the Roundheads and Cavaliers.

The Roundheads went on to win this war and Charles was, of course, beheaded after attempting to ignore the changes in English politics.

This sculpture could demonstrate that when art is in the public realm the public can forget the original intention, and also forget the history that it may represent.

In this sculpture Charles is wearing a suit of armour, however, he is without a helmet. He is not interpreted as a War King, in other words war was out and reason was in. Across his chest he has a scarf tied in to a bow on the right shoulder. In his left hand he holds the reins of the horse and in his right he is holding a baton.

This is the earliest English equestrian statue. Originally commissioned in 1630 by Charles l’s Lord Treasurer, Sir Richard Weston, for his house Mortlake Park in Roehampton.

The sculpture was cast in 1638, just before the English Civil War. After the war it was sold by Parliament to John Rivet, a metal smith, to be broken down. However, it wasn’t broken down and the statue was hid until the Restoration, when it was placed on a pedestal by Charles the Second at its current location.

Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey Statue of George IV, 1843, Bronze, Trafalgar Square.

The king is dressed in Roman clothing and was originally designed to sit on top of the Marble Arch at the entrance to Buckingham Palace, but was instead placed in Trafalgar square following the Kings death. George died in 1830, and the statue was placed on an empty plinth in Trafalgar since December 1843. It was unveiled to little ceremony, with The Times describing it as “somewhat suddenly erected”. An inscription was added towards the end of the 19th century due to the public no longer aware of whom he was.

The 4th Plinth.

Over the past 7 years the ‘empty’ fourth Plinth in the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square has been home to artwork. It was originally designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1841 to display an equestrian statue, but never completed. Over one hundred and fifty years later in 1998 – the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA) commissioned three contemporary sculptures to be displayed temporarily. There was a massive public interest generated by these commissions, the Major of London began the Fourth Plinth Programme to continue as a tradition and build on its success.

Boy strides his rocking horse, a child has been elevated to the status of historical hero, though there is not yet a history commemorate – only a future to hope for. It is cast in bronze, it references the traditional monuments in the square, and however, they have created a golden shine to celebrate generations to come.

"We wanted to create a public sculpture which, rather than dealing with topics of victory or defeat, honours the everyday battles of growing up.” Elmgreen & Dragset The forth plinth is a place for artists to place their work to show the public, this is Alison Lapper pregnant by Marc Quinn, September 2005 – October 2007 Alison Lapper is a critically acclaimed British artist. She has the medical condition phocomelia.

'The sculpture is a portrait of Alison Lapper when she was 8½ months pregnant’ – Marc Quinn.

It is carved out of one block of white marble and stands 3.55 metres high.

GG Scott Albert Memorial in Hyde Park (1864-72 statue completed 1875) The Albert Memorial in Hyde’s Park was built in 1861 in response to the death of Prince Albert.

‘A colossal statue of the Prince, placed beneath a vast and magnificent shrine of tabernacle and surrounded by works of sculpture illustrating those Arts and Sciences which he fostered commemorative Gothic shrine with rich decoration and allegorical sculptural figures and groups’. – GG Scott.

Prince Albert holds the catalogue of the Great Exhibition, held in Hyde Park in 1851, which he inspired and helped to organise.

Joseph Paxton: ‘The Crystal Palace’, 1851 Hyde Park…. Home of the 1851 Great Exhibition The Crystal Palace was also in Hyde Park, it was built due because techniques were made possible by recent technological advances in the manufacture of both glass and cast iron, and financially possible by the dropping of a tax on glass. The function of this was to house the first modern world’s fair, the Great Exhibition of 1851, celebrating the British Empire and British manufacturing and commerce. The building had to be designed and constructed within 6 months, and then dismantled and built somewhere else after the exhibition. It was a revolutionary and monumental structure, it was a modular and prefabricated design, mainly made from glass. The glazing of the build was done with speed, with one man managing to fix 108 panes in a single day. In total the Palace was 1851 feet long, 408 feet wide and 108 feet high. It required 4,500 tons of iron, over 293,000 panes of glass and only eight months to build. This building is unlike any other building.

It’s a demonstration of British technology in iron and glass.

Albert Memorial in Hyde Park (1864-72 completed 1875).

Prince Albert sits in a Gothic structure, in the style of a Gothic ciborium – over the alter. The whole structure adds to Albert’s role as protector of arts and reveals aspects of his character and intellect. It is highly significant that Scott’s design was chosen as it was the only Gothic entry received. The overall design of the sculpture and the detail of the superstructure is gothic, it contributed to public acceptance of and enthusiasm for the Gothic. However, the sculptural groups and friezes are not, they are classical and allegorical, with many famous Victorian sculptors working on this statue.

At the base of the sculpture there are four corners, which represent the world at the base. They are marble figures representing Europe, Asia, Africa and America – nations which contributed to the Exhibition. The focus moves upwards on the sculpture, from representations of human history and society, through creative and intellectual activity, to moral attributes, and terminates in the realm of virtue, religious aspiration and heaven.

As I previously mentioned, at the base of the sculpture there are four corners which represent Europe, Asia, Africa and America.

A specific one that I particularly love is the Asia sculpture.

This sculpture is by John Henry Foley, and represents Asia.

As we can see by the cloths they are wearing, and the elephant they sit on.

References to Albert’s support of the Great Exhibition of 1851 in the Industrial Arts. Allegorical figures represent the manufacture, commerce, agriculture, and engineering, on the corner pedestals of the podium. To the right is a sculpture representing Agriculture, by William CalderMarshall. We can see that the man on his knees is holding a combine harvester, with the women also sat down working. Below these sculptures is the Frieze, this is a continuous relief of the great figures such as Poets, Musicians, Painters, Sculptors and Architects.

The Frieze is made up of 187 figures. As we can see below, it has some famous names on there such as Homer, Shakespere, Goethe, Schiller, Donatello and Michelangelo. Below in the picture to the left we can see Donatello and Michelangelo, with Donatello is holding a famous sculpture that he made himself.

Allegories of the Sciences Geometry; Astronomy; Chemistry; Geology in the second tier in niches above the capitals Physiology; Rhetoric; Medicine; Philosophy.

The mosaic to the left represents architecture. Around the four sides of the gable artist Salviati decorated with a 1,200 sq ft of mosaic (Italian Glass manufacturer . The first glass factory owner to employ a large number of employees to mass-produce glass intended for export )inscription across reads; Queen Victoria and

her people/ To the memory of Albert Prince consort/ As a tribute of their gratitude / For a life devoted to the public good.

Each of the gable mosaics of the canopy shows an allegorical figure corresponding to these different artistic activities. Scott placed Painting and Sculpture on the two flanks ‛united in front by Poetry as their ideal bond of union and by Architecture behind as their material bond of union.

Further up, near the top, are gilded bronze statues of the angels and virtues. In a broader context the Memorial is a confident assertion of Britain’s place in the world in the 19th Century.

Sir Alfred Gilbert Anteros 1893 aluminium Sir Alfred Gilbert (1854 –1934) was an English sculptor and goldsmith who enthusiastically experimented with metallurgical innovations. He received his education mainly in Paris (Ecole des Beaux-Arts) and studied in Rome and Florence where the significance of the Renaissance made a lasting impression upon him and his art.

“The sculpture was unveiled in 1893, The Magazine of Art said it

provided a "striking contrast to the ugliness of the generalities of our street sculpture".

The fountain is an aluminium figure of Anteros standing on a bronze base. The six foot tall figure of Anteros has a relatively small body but large wings, and is standing outstretched on one leg.

In one hand Anteros is holding a bow. The other hand is drawn back as if he is holding an imaginary arrow. Anteros is wearing a winged helmet that comes down over his forehead.

Gilbert chose to create the sculpture of Eros from aluminium because of the pale colour of the metal and also because aluminium is very light and strong. If the sculpture had been casted in bronze, it would not be able to support all of the weight on one thin ankle whilst leaning so far forward.

It would collapse. This pose is only possible through the use of aluminium. When Gilbert created the sculpture for the Eros fountain in London, it was the first use of aluminium in a major public work in Britain. The use of aluminium was made possible by the discovery of the Delville Costner casting process, in the late 19th Century. The figure of Anteros is constructed of 15 separate castings making up the head, torso, legs, arms, wings, drapery, head, wings, conch shell and bow. The model for the figure of Anteros was one of Gilbert's studio assistants a 16-year-old studio assistant called Angelo Colorossi.

The sculpture has always been known as Eros. Eros is the Greek God of love. However the sculptor, Gilbert, made it clear that the figure he had made represented Eros’ twin brother Anteros, the god of selfless philanthropic love. The sculpture was dedicated to Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the Earl of Shatfsbury, due to his charity work – hence Anteros who is “the Angel of Christian Charity”. At first the piece didn’t receive a warm welcome, people were confused that it was a sculpture of Anteros and it wasn’t suitable for the memory of the Earl of Shaftsbury.

Shaftesbury memorial in Piccadilly Circus is an example of the New Sculpture movement. Gilbert was a central participant in the New Sculpture movement that invigorated sculpture in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century.

The term "New Sculpture" was coined by the critic Edmund Gosse, who wrote a four-part series for the Art Journal in 1894. After a period of a stylised neoclassicism in sculpture over the last quarter of the century, Artists began to explore a greater degree of naturalism and wider range of subject matter.

New Sculpture represents a new direction for sculpture at the end of the nineteenth century. Remember in France Auguste Rodin left the accurate representation of the human body behind, the New Sculptors in Britain chose to grapple with issues of naturalistic representation of the body and the detailed rendering of its surface. The New Sculpture does not represent one singular style, but rather a range of options developed to make sculpture more vital and life-like. They represent the final flowering of a sculptural tradition that had its roots in the Renaissance, and was revitalised by Rodin and his contemporaries in mid nineteenth-century France Goscombe John Morpheus 1890 bronze, life size.

This sculpture is master of anatomical form, and an example of typical new movement sculpture. William Goscombe John (18601952), was a leader of the British ‘New Sculpture’ movement. As we have already discussed, The New Sculpture movement aimed to make sculpture more dynamic through the naturalistic representation of the human body.

Morpheus in Greek mythology is the god of dreams, he has the ability to take any human form and appear in dream. Usually he is depicted with wings, the word and drug morphine is derived from him.

Robin Balzac and the Burghers of Calais Auguste Rodin: 1840 – 1917.

‘The

father of Modern Sculpture’

Rodin is known for leaving behind notions of idealised beauty, almost ugliness and realism; he shows the role of feeling and the importance of the artist. Rodin often exposed the joint lines of the piece moulds and also the “unfinished” marks of modelling and editing. Throughout his life Rodin increasingly left evidence of working process within his work such as fragments and chisel marks, or in-prints on clothing, this could suggest that he was inspired by Michelangelo’s unfinished works. He made spare parts such as knees, hands, feet and then put together figures from these. He would usually make a figure and then remake it by recasting the same versions and variants again.

His work is characterised expressive figures, which is not present in the contemporary academic world. The processes he uses are very loose and free, using expressive fluids, and leaving emphatic gestures on the sculptures. Rodin wanted to look at the inner mind of the figure rather than just the outer appearance; this increased the animated light-catching surfaces. Rodin would make the plaster cast model, and then his assistants would carve in marble to create the finished sculpture. Where Rodin would use the same plaster casts, there were different mediums of his work, for example there are over 300 authorised bronze copies of the Kiss by 1917.

‘The Age of Bronze’, 1887, bronze, life size.

The age of Bronze was the ‘Third age of Man’ when man shaped bronze tools innocent men uncorrupted by civilisation awakens painfully and must learn to survive this new society.

The modelling of the nude and its deceptively realistic appearance lead to Rodin being accused of casting from a live model, which was highly frowned upon within this time. Rodin preserved photographs of the human model on which the sculpture is based on. In the photographs the man is shown nude, his clenched right hand on his head and his left hand grasping a pole. It became evident that the sculpture was not cast from the body of the man.

However, critics were also dismayed by the subject, because Robin didn’t only go against the elaborate symbols with which academic sculptures used within their work, but also had taken away the sphere that the statue had originally carried in his left hand, suggesting that he wanted the meaning to rely heavily on the figure itself. He then changed the name of the sculpture from ‘The Vanquished’ to ‘The Age of Bronze’. ‘The Age of Bronze’ was a re-worked image originally made as a memorial to the fallen in 1871, but was reworked for the 1877 Salon.

In 1875-6, Robin had been to visit Italy. This could suggest that this sculpture was very heavily inspired by Donatello and his sculpture of ‘David’, and also Michelangelo with ‘The dying Slave’ (Juluis’ Tomb) 1513.

Rodin: ‘The Burghers of Calais’, 1885-95, 217 x 255 x 117cm, Bronze.

The Burghers of Calais is a civic monument commissioned by the civic fathers of Calais. The patriotic selfsacrifice of Eustache de Saint Pierre and five fellow citizens of Calais in 1347.

The story was related in Jean Froissart’s Chronicles (1370-1400).

Omer Dewavrin is the major of Calais, and in September 1884, he suggested erecting a monument as a tribute to the heroism of Eustache de Saint Pierre and his companions, funded by the National appeal fund.

‘The Burghers of Calais, First Maquette’ The notion of the sacrifice was shown even in the first maquette. There are six figures present on the same plane, all stood next to each other. However, there was no visible order of importance or no specific features that really shown any of them apart from each other. It was a very loose garment of the men executed, with minimal detail on features. They were based on a high rectangular base, putting them almost on a pedestal. The committee was very enthusiastic towards the first Maquette and Rodin was awarded the commission for the monument. He then went on to pursue his investigation to identify each figure and express them with the different feelings felt by the men on the verge of death, despair, courage, resignation and uncertainty. He modelled them unclothed at first, to their actual size, and then began to clothe them in tunics worn by the condemned men. He worked on all

the hands and heads separately, making all the figures sculptures in their own right. The monument was finally finished in 1889.

The emphasis within this sculpture is the psychological impact of this group; they all have their personal embodiment, rather than just the overall subject.

Edward 3rd offered spare the people of the city if six of the leaders would sacrifice themselves for the others. Edward ordered them to dress in plain garments and walk to his camp holding the keys to the city. One of the wealthiest town leaders who is called Eustache de Saint Pierre was the first to volunteer, followed by the other 5 burghers. They were then led to the city gates, where they know they have been defeated and willing to face death and sacrifice themselves. This is the moment that Rodin then captures within the sculpture, all these feelings currently going through their mind as they know they have been defeated and willing to face death for the sake of their city.

Rodin didn’t necessarily show heroism within the sculpture, it was very much controversial. Instead, he showed them to appear worn, tired and giving up. It was innovative in the fact that it presented the burghers at the same level as the

viewers, rather than on the traditional pedestal, however in 1924 the status was placed on a pedestal against Rodin’s wishes.

“I did not want a pedestal for these figures. I wanted them to be placed on, even affixed to, the paving stones of the square in front of the Hôtel de Ville in Calais so that it looked as if they were leaving in order to go to the enemy camp. In this way they would have been, as it were, mixed with the daily life of the town: passers-by would have elbowed them but the commissioning body understood nothing of the desires I expressed.

They thought I was mad. . . Statues without a pedestal! Where had that ever been seen before? There must be a pedestal; there was no way of getting around it.”

Also, Rodin doesn’t use the hierarchical arrangement typical of his time, e.g. a pyramidal grouping with a prominent central figure. For the viewer there is no clear distinction that the leader is within the group. All the men are on equal footing and equal together. As Rodin showed them later on within the narrative he was unable to identify them as wealthy men, or portray them in more stately and respectable clothing. The figures are almost shown to be rooted to the ground, almost burdened by their decisions and emotional weight. The figures also have proportionally large hands and feet, again, adding to the idea of emotional weight. There are also no obvious statements that show bravery through gesture, as traditionally bravery is shown through the uplifted chin and common facial expressions of determination.

Whilst I was visiting London I decided to visit The Burghers of Calais. I

believe not only are they a piece of art, but they tell such a story! This is one of my favourite pieces by Rodin due to the way he has arranged the figures, there is no clear leader of the group.

He has made the men all equal footed together, he hasn’t made them to look like the generalised heroic figure but instead to show their emotions and burdened decisions, he has portrayed them as heroes in a very different way. They aren’t shown as strong wealthy men, he is showing the Emotional weight and fear they must be feeling leading up to this event, which in my opinion tells much more of a story.

Francois Rude: ‘La Marseillaise’, 1833-36, Stone relief. Height 13m, Arc de Triomphe.

In this sculpture by Rude, you can see the gestures of bravery as the chin is uplifted, and you can see the heroic and bravery on their faces. You can almost feel the energy that is being let off from this sculpture, whereas, the other sculpture is showing defeat. However, the defeat doesn’t mean they aren’t heroic.

They are heroic for admitting defeat and doing it for the sake of their town.

These two sculptures are showing two different types of heroism and telling two different types of heroic stories.

Rodin: ‘Monument to Balzac’ 1891-8, larger than life size, bronze.

Rodin received a commission for a monument to Balzac In 1891 from the Scoitete des Gens de Lettres.

After seven years’ of preparation by reading the authors works, by studying his biography and attempting to not understand his physical appearance but also his personality and psychology of his literary genius, he believed he was finally ready to take on the task of creating a sculpture not showing just his physical features, but also his personal.

"I think of his intense labour, of the difficulty of his life, of his incessant battles, and of his great courage. I would express all that."

He wanted to show Balzac’s personality and his writing, but without the traditional forms and attributes such as props. He created a plaster soaked shroud representing the artist’s dressing gown. Not only did the Scoitete reject the work but it also received extraordinary controversy in the press. The criticism was mainly on the fact that Rodin’s treatment of a famous person did not follow the formula of aggrandizing the subject and on the lack of a finished surface.

Rodin: “ A Balzac in his study, breathless, hair in disorder, eyes lost in a dream…my principle is to imitate not only form but life”

The figure leans with his left foot forward with a slight twist in his body, leaving a rough patina.

You can see the form of his left hand evident under his robe.

Overall, the body has been left very generalised, with emphasis on leonine head-more detail.

The sculpture is above life size, with a rugged face and large head with unruly hair on the top of his head.

His face is coarse with flaws.

The figure is wrapped in a large robe which completely disguises his body and limbs. Rodin has created hanging folds to emphasize the garment he is wearing.

He has a very monumental physical presence and a theatrical striking pose.

However, it is not an idealised sculpture and there are also no props used.

He has a very sombre serious expression, with his head slightly tilted back and his eyes gazing in to the distance. He has very deep set eyes.

Designs.

Again, I have started to look into how I could create patterns from these sculptures, and how I could create a garment inspired by Rodin and his sculptures. I wanted to recreate the sculpture into a modern/abstract pattern. I really love the stance that the figures are standing in and wanted to work with the outlines of the figures and the negative space. I also wanted to work with the emotion they are portraying.

Martyrs Memorial Oxford.

GG Scott - Structure Henry Weekes - Sculpture Martyr’s Memorial Oxford (1841) Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878) He was one of the best known architects of the Gothic Revival. In his obituary in the Builder he was called “the foremost architect of his day”. He was very much inspired by Augustus Pugin to join the Gothic revival, with the first notable work in the gothic style being Martyrs Memorial on St Giles, Oxford (1841).

In 1553, when the Roman Catholic Queen Mary came to the throne, Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury), Nicholas Ridley (Archbishop of London), and Hugh Latimer (Bishop of Worcester), were summoned to appear before a commission in the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford to

be examined for their alleged protestant beliefs.

As they were unable to admit to a belief in transubstantiation (the bread and wine), they were all found guilty of heresy. Ridley and Latimer were burnt at the stake of 16 October 1555 in the ditch outside the Oxford city wall. Archbishop Cranmer, who had been given longer to appeal, was

forced to watch them die, and he recanted his original statement. However, it didn’t work as on the 21st March he 1556, he was taken to the same ditch and also burnt to death.

The Victorian Gothic revival memorial, has a very similar steeple of a cathedral. The three statues on the memorial are of Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer and, Nicholas Ridley. They have been made by a famous Victorian sculptor called Henry Weeks. The sculpture was called ‘The Shelly Memorial’ 1853 at the west end of the Church.

The sculptor Henry Weekes was born in Canterbury, in 1823 he entered the RA Schools. In 1827, he became an assistant to Chantrey.

Francis Chantrey was one of

the most important established sculptors in the early 19th Century. He had a profound influence because of his Bequest, he gave £105,000 which allowed the purchase of art made in Britain for the national collection, now known as the Tate Britain. On the death of Chantrey, Weeks took over his studio, and finished off some of his incomplete statues, one of these was the Wellington Equestrian statue by the Royal Exchange in London unveiled in 1844.

Context of construction of Martyrs Memorial.

In 1833, John Keble delivered a speech in Oxford describing the state of the Church of England. Some thinkers believed this movement was about bringing a return to the Catholic faith and rituals into the Church of England, which remember had links to the Protestant faith.

In England, the Church of England was undergoing a revival of Anglo-Catholic ideology in the form of the Oxford Movement and it became desirable to build large numbers of new churches to cater for the growing population, and cemeteries for the hygienic burials. This found ready exponents in the universities, where the ecclesiological movement was forming. They believed that Gothic was the only style that was appropriate for a parish church, and favoured a particular era of Gothic architecture - the decorated.

John Carter in Ancient Architecture of England 1791 - 1814, wrote of “gothic, our national architecture”.

The Northampton Eleanor Cross 1291.

When comparing the Northampton Eleanor Cross, you can see how Scott used the form to machos gothic revival cross. The Eleanor crosses were 12 lavishly decorated stone monuments, of which three survive intact, in a line down part of the east of England. King Edward had the crosses erected between 1291 and 1294 in memory of his wife Eleanor of Castile, marking the nightly resting-places along the route taken by her body as it was taken to London.

The picture to the left is ‘Charing Cross’, outside Charing Cross Station. It was the original Eleanor cross, however, it was recreated in 1865 and based on GG Scott’s design for his Martyrs Memorial.

Scott Maryr’s Memorial, Oxford (1841-3), is a very Gothic recreation, based on the aforementioned Eleanor Crosses and medieval metalwork. It commemorated the Protestant Bishops Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley who were burnt in 1555 and 1556 by the order of Queen Mary. The form of the Martyrs memorial was provided by the 14th century Eleanor Crosses. Scott wrote:

“I fancy that cross was better than anyone else but Pugin could have produced”.

Scott argued that correct Decorated Gothic was perfectly adaptable to modern uses and could be incorporated to modern improvements such as plate-glass windows and iron construction. He wrote a book called Remarks on Secular and Domestic Architecture (1857). In this book he argue that Gothic was the closest style to nature in its decorative detail.

The Oxford Movement believed that Interiors should be axially arranged to give focus on alter rather than the puplit, with three steps (to symbolise the Trinity) up to the rood screen or alter rail. There were congregations seated on benches facing east, with the chancel richly decorated and a nave plain. The two areas are very distinguishable from one another.

The Gothic Revival.

19th Century Britain was industrialised and the first country in the world to become industrialised. It was believed that the lights always stayed on in the British Empire due to constant manufacturing, inventions, new creations and changing the world in a rapid time.

People started to move from rural countryside to towns and major cities such as London. The population of Britain was quickly increasing, meaning people in the cities were living in dark and cramped conditions. People started to question their religious beliefs within this time due to the advancement in technology and science. Due to the rapid changes people quickly began to look back at the medieval world (1300’s) when craftsman produced local buildings out of local materials, when people worshipped god, therefore they were nicer and respectful to each other.

Due to the major increase in population, more churches were needed in Britain. London rose from 1 million in 1801 to over 3.8 million in 1871. Gothic architecture had continuously been visible and there are elements of Gothic survival in Oxford Colleges, Gothic was suitable for churches as it was a Christian style and it was also appropriate as it was a native style.

After the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 there was a general tendency to idealise the middle Ages. Gothic was also seen as a native style as John Carter wrote in Ancient Architecture of England 1791-1814 “gothic, our national architecture”.

Strawberry Hill.

Strawberry Hill is the house of Horace Walpole; he was not an architect but a rich MP, an observer of the age, an amateur and an imitator of the past. A group of such amateurs worked on Strawberry Hill. The past they were interested in was usually, the middle ages: The Gothic.

The form of Strawberry Hill had an irregular and natural form compared to the ideal and symmetrical classical form. For the first time Strawberry Hill was a translation of Gothic into architecture. The picturesque

interest in architecture then lead into the full blown Gothic Revival. In 1833 a man called John Keble delivered a speech in Oxford describing the state of the Church of England. This caused some controversy as some thinkers could see this movement about bringing a return to see the Catholic faith and rituals into the Church of England, which links to the Protestant faith, leading to people gathering in Oxford debating Christian Worship and the need for new churches to cater for the growing population. A variety of different factors lead to new churches, such as the rising population in Britain with a less moral society, the Oxford Movement 1830’s, Ecclesiological Society 1840’s and AWN Pugin.

The Oxford movement thinking found students in Universities, especially in Cambridge where the Ecclesiological Society was forming. Members within this society believed that Gothic was the only style appropriate for a parish church, and favoured a particular era of Gothic architecture – the Decorated. In 1841, the Ecclesiological Society announced its intentions for their model church:   

It must be in a Gothic Style.

It must be built of solid materials.

It ornaments should decorate its construction.

All of this is evident in:

All Saints Church.

William Butterfield (1814-1900) was an architect of the High Anglican movement. All Saints’, Margaret Street, London, was paid for by the Ecclesiological Society as a model town church. It was High Anglican in ritual arrangement, offering members and visitors a traditional style of liturgy, as advocated by the Oxford movement of the mid-nineteenth century, including ritual, choir and organ music, vestments and incense. The building embodied the latest stylistic thinking especially in ideas of structural polychromy, using differently coloured materials for decoration and construction, as advocated by John Ruskin from his book the Stones of Venice.

As you can see from the photograph to the right, as you look up you can see the tall spire, one of the tallest in London.

They wanted to restore pride for the entire national, even when the building was conceived; London was already very built up so the architect had to strategically figure out how he would fit the court yard, full church, grand nave and grand sanctuary into modern London in a confined area. If we look closely at the building we are able to see that there are these lovely deep red bricks, with lines of black bricks offset with limestone. The polychrome of this decoration isn’t on the surface, but is

actually the material supporting the building. This decorative courtyard exterior is foreshadowing as we know once we enter the church the colours and decorations will be even more bold and intense with materials being even more diverse. This is actually very similar to the Cathedral in Sienna due to the horizontal alternating bands of black and white covering the building.

In the early 1850’s when the building was designed, there was an incredibly important artist who wanted to make medieval Italy important for Victorian architects called John Ruskin. He spent years focusing on architecture and laying down the rules of what he believed true architecture should be. The building was inspired by his book ‘Stones of Venice’. This is his write up on Venetian art and architecture, first published from 1851-53. He wanted to prove how architecture in Venice exemplified the principles he discussed in his earlier works, ‘The Seven Lamps of Architecture’; he examined the city in considerable detail, describing for example over eighty churches. He believed that the Gothic architecture was missing the point. It was in his book with its diagrams that then influenced the architects in this Gothic period. He believed that to be able to build honestly and sensitively, you have to look back Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. Built in at the past, in his case, he looked back at continental early traditions.

Europe for techniques, materials, and in terms of sense of medieval piety. He believed authenticity in life had been lost in the new industrial culture.

Ruskin was a major critic of industrialisation. To allow for the church to be built a movement in the 1830’s began called the Oxford movement, as I have previously mentioned. The Oxford movement believed it should be revivified, looking as far back as Church fathers in the first century of Christianity, looking at catholic traditions before the reformation. The idea started off very much as an intellectual movement

and theology, however, later in Cambridge a group of men decided to look into art and architecture of the Middle Ages, to see how this could promote the Oxford vision.

Eventually, the group in Cambridge became the Ecclesiologist society.

As you walk into the building, it is very beautiful and quiet mainly made out of decorative tile and stone. The main focal point inside is the east end sanctuary on the alter and the revelation of Christ. The meeting with god was made much more multi century, which is why the visual within the church is so important. The spiritual made physical. The ornaments and patterns are concentrated by the alter, with low and heavy stone screens inspired by John Ruskin’s ideas in ‘The stones of Venice’. The low and heavy stone screens separated the congregation from the important stuff happening in the sanctuary, but also highlighting the importance of this area. Again, this could be compared to the Santa Sabina, which is such an early example of Christian architecture and is a real source of inspiration for Victorian architecture, as I mentioned authenticity before, what this building is trying to do is capture all the generations of Christian history right from the first century. As approaching the east end of the church the light comes through the clear story, making the sanctuary much brighter, with the windows being above with the main arcades being on either side. The light coming through from above is a typical way of introducing light into a gothic building, and also symbolic.

On the East wall is the life of Christ, which is much historicized like the building itself. It is almost a Victorian conception of 14th century Italian art. In the 1840’s a man

called William Dyce who was a Victorian painter was invited by the patron and architect, to paint the life of Saints and Christ on the east wall. However, it deteriorated and Sir John Ninian Comper repainted it in his own style. Comper loved early Italian Renaissance paintings.

There was a much more integrated way of thinking about god and science in the mid Victorian period. In the step that everyone has to use to get into the sanctuary is actually made out of fossils, as well as the font. The passage of geological time is present in this holy threshold; it is overwhelming of the time it represents. In this church the infinite come together. Victorians were struggling with the discoveries they were making and what they might mean.

The Gothic Revival was closely related to the topics of the day: national identity, industrialisation, demography, religious controversy and the preservation of national monuments.

A lot of people were left unhappy with the social and religious changes brought by the Industrialisation. A lot of people decided to go back to the medieval world where they believed craftsmen were talented and produced goods with their hands, unlike the massive industrial factories that were mass producing products which made the products loose the unique touch that they once had. One of the people who believed in this was AWN Pugin. He believed that people should use the local materials available and admired the creativity of crafting and in terms of the social aspect, he dreamed of going back to the aforementioned medieval world where goods were made by hand and talent.

Pugin had a lot of very unusual theories and ideas of the society we live in, he believed that architecture is intimately connected with the state of society and he stated that it is connected with the state of society that produces it. He also believed that true Christian architecture could only surface when the communal spirit of the middle ages is re-established, which led him to become a key figure promoting the medieval Gothic architecture in his writings. There are three key publications by Augustus Pugin in which he set out his views on architecture. One of his most requisite contributions was his work ‘Contrasts’, in which he polemicized against all modern architecture and society. In Contrasts, Pugin expressed his admiration not only for medieval art but the whole medieval ethos, claiming that Gothic architecture was the product of a purer society. Another is ‘The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture (1841), he suggested that modern craftsmen seeking to emulate the style of medieval workmanship should also reproduce its methods.

“The great test of Architectural beauty is the fitness of the design for purpose for which it is intended”.

Pugin says that Architecture is intimately connected with the state of society that produces it. A true and noble Christian architecture could only re-arise when the piety and communal spirit of the middle ages was restored. In 1835, Parliament announced a new act called the Municipal corporation act. This meant that the rich rulers were removed from towns and new democratic elected councils were brought in. These new councils wanted to mark their towns with new buildings and new town halls.

One of these town halls was the town of Liverpool, it needed a new hall, law courts and jail, and the council also wanted a concert hall. In 1839, they advertised in the paper they already had a name – St Georges Hall, all they needed was an architect. The planners of the Liverpool wanted to represent their new wealth and success!

A W N Pugin St. Giles, Cheadle, Staffs. (1846).