Another piece of the mosaic. Trecento influences on the Albert Memorial
Alan Crookham
The Albert Memorial was constructed as a monument to Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria, following his death in 1861. Completed in 1876, it is a major example of the Gothic Revival yet one that references both Classicism and the Italian Trecento. The latter’s influence can clearly be seen in the Memorial’s mosaics that decorate its pediments, spandrels and vaulting. This paper explores the reasoning and background for the inclusion of Italian trecento styles on the Memorial. It examines the roles played by the architect, George Gilbert Scott, the designer Richard Clayton, the mosaic entrepreneur Antonio Salviati, and the artistic advisers Charles Lock Eastlake and Austen Henry Layard.