Albert Memorial

The Albert Memorial has stood tall and garish in the greenery of Hyde Park since 1872. While the gilded memorial is aesthetically beautiful, the beauty is truly in the history of it. The monument was erected in honor of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband. After his death in 1861, Queen Victoria’s devastation produced a magnificent aedifice at the ultimate point of Exhibition Road. This area was once the site of the Great Exhibition in 1851, which Prince Albert heavily contributed to on account of his love for the arts and sciences. I admire the gothic revival architecture of the monument and the intimate details of it that do not immediately catch the eye. My favorite part of the memorial is the Frieze of Parnassus, which sits at Albert’s feet. The sculpted stone frieze that encircles the base of the podium depicts artists, poets, and musicians, such as Michelangelo, Virgil, and Beethoven.

In addition to the display of arts and sciences on the monument, the imperial influence in the monument is clear to me, as well as in the art of the time. Surrounding the monument, there are four stone pillars, which represent the four corners of the world (or the four continents they colonized): America, Europe, Africa and Asia. This proud display of imperialism can only be further seen in the artwork of the time, specifically in Thomas Barker’s The Secret of England’s Greatness from 1863. The image paints a clear picture about the effects of imperialism and the Victorian attitude towards race and empire. At the center of the photo, Queen Victoria stands over an African royal. She is handing him a Bible which to me signifies the imperial hand that Britain had over their colonies and the values and customs they had passed on to their imperial countries. Regardless of its garish aesthetic, the Albert Memorial offers a detailed look into British and Imperial history.
- Madison Mansour

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