LONDON.- A sculpture of Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, on display in Windsor Castle for the past 160 years, has been revealed to have been made by his daughter, Princess Victoria, in memory of her beloved father after his untimely death in 1861.
The discovery was made during research for
European Sculpture in the Collection of His Majesty The King, the first comprehensive catalogue of sculpture in the Royal Collection, published by Modern Art Press in association with Royal Collection Trust.
Prince Albert and his eldest daughter Princess Victoria had a close relationship, sharing a love for learning and the arts – sculpture in particular, with both known to give lengthy advice when commissioning new works. Like her sisters Princesses Alice and Louise, the Crown Princess took lessons in sculpting, and, perhaps fearing someone else would not do her ‘dear Papa’ justice, she created the posthumous bust with her tutor, Hugo Hagen.
Already involved in multiple commemorative projects across painting, architecture and sculpture, Princess Victoria felt the weight of responsibility. In a heartfelt letter to her mother Queen Victoria, she wrote from Berlin: ‘It is a work which completely engrosses me … I feel very nervous … I hope you will like it. How I wish you were here to give advice!’ The Queen’s reply came days later: ‘I like it extremely,’ adding only that the nose was a touch too thick. The Princess and her husband, the Crown Prince of Prussia, went on to give the sculpture to Queen Victoria for Christmas in 1864.
The bust of Prince Albert has been on prominent display in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle for more than 100 years, now seen by over a million visitors each year. However, it was long believed to be the work of the sculptor Robert William Sievier. During research, the catalogue’s author Jonathan Marsden, former Director of the Royal Collection, determined that the bust could not be Sievier’s, which was known to depict Albert at age 23. By examining archival correspondence between the Queen and her daughter, he identified the sculpture as the lost bust created by Princess Victoria to commemorate her father.
The discovery is among a number of revelations and new research published for the first time in the catalogue, which has been 30 years in the making. These include the rediscovery of a rare small bronze figure of a satyr by Benvenuto Cellini, one of the greatest sculptors of the Italian Renaissance. Made as part of a commission by Francis I of France in 1542 for Fontainebleau, the sculpture’s history is largely unknown other than a fleeting appearance in an inventory of George IV’s storage rooms until it was rediscovered during research for the catalogue – helping reveal what the unrealised scheme for the French king’s favourite château would have looked like.
Similarly, a bust by the French Renaissance sculptor Germain Pilon, previously thought to depict Marie de’ Medici, was discovered to be a rare bronze of Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of France and mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots. It is now on display in her daughter-in-law’s apartments at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Extensive research into the sculptures in the Collection has shed light on their varied uses through the centuries. Queen Victoria had a particular fondness for using sculpture to preserve the memory of growing children or lost loved ones. A bust of the young Prince Albert by Emil Wolff given by the Prince to his fiancée on their engagement in 1839 was kept by Queen Victoria next to her desk in her sitting room at Buckingham Palace for 60 years. However, in recent times its identity had been forgotten, and it was described as an ‘unknown man’.
Victoria also commissioned the successful female sculptor Mary Thornycroft to portray her growing family, even hiring her as a sculpting tutor for another of her daughters, Princess Louise, who became a notable sculptor in her own right. Thornycroft’s work for the Queen was all the more impressive given she had seven children of her own between 1841 and 1853 and was still working on a bust of Princess Alice two days before giving birth to her own daughter.
The four-volume catalogue reveals some of the more surprising histories of the works. A bronze statue of Mercury wearing his characteristic winged helmet was sold by accident in 1825 before being immediately reacquiredat the demand of a displeased George IV, who had a keen interest in sculpture. The work was cast by the French sculptor Hubert le Sueur in 1638–9 for Queen Henrietta Maria’s privy garden at Somerset House, but after 200 years and a move to Kensington Palace, the bronze had been mistaken for lead. It was only after it was sold as scrap metal that the true value and importance of the sculpture was rediscovered.
The scope of the catalogue is unprecedented, covering all work in the Royal Collection by sculptors active in Europe, across all materials, from the late 15th to late-20th centuries. Examples range from the colossal sculpture of the gods Mars and Venus at Buckingham Palace by Antonio Canova, considered one of the greatest Neoclassical artists, to a sculptural car mascot from 1950 representing St George and the Dragon, commissioned by the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to be fixed on the royal car when the sovereign is travelling in the vehicle. A more recent addition to the Royal Collection is Sun and Moon by Dame Barbara Hepworth, the first work to be made in gold by Britain’s foremost female sculptor of the 20th century.
Jonathan Marsden, author and former Director of the Royal Collection, said: ‘The publication of the catalogue raisonné marks the completion of one of the largest cataloguing projects undertaken by Royal Collection Trust, recording almost 2,000 works of art and bringing this part of the Royal Collection into the light. Sculpture can easily fade into the background, yet closer examination can reveal works of art of quality and significance with their own stories to tell.
‘By sharing our discoveries, both through the catalogue and online, we hope visitors to the palaces will have a renewed appreciation of these beautiful works of art and pieces of history. For researchers and specialists, the catalogue represents an important new body of evidence, the foundation for future scholarship.’
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