Art in Parliament
Over and above the need for decoration, it was hoped that the vast building would provide ample opportunity for state support of contemporary art. This was something that had not happened before on such a scale. Indeed, traditionally politicians thought that government intervention in such cultural matters was inappropriate. ‘God help the minister who meddles in art’, was Lord Melbourne’s response when an artist approached him on the subject.
'The Prince’s Chamber had portraits and events from the Tudor dynasty ...'
The Fine Art Commission assigned a period or subject from British history (and in some areas literature) for each area of the palace. The Royal Robing Room, at the suggestion of Prince Albert, was assigned scenes from the Arthurian legend, and this commission was executed by William Dyce.
The Royal Gallery was assigned the subject of Britain at war, and eventually was home to gilded sculptures of warrior kings and queens, and painted scenes of the battles of Trafalgar (1805) and Waterloo (1815). The two enormous wall paintings by Daniel Maclise, which illustrated these two events, were the only elements of this ambitious scheme to be completed.
The Prince’s Chamber had portraits and events from the Tudor dynasty, as well as a massive sculpture of Queen Victoria by John Gibson (the only portrait of the Queen within the interior of the palace). The Lords Chamber had a series of six allegorical and historical paintings representing the three types of Lords (Lords Temporal, Lords Spiritual and the Law Lords) and sculptures of the Magna Carta barons.
Perhaps the most contentious schemes were those assigned to the two corridors that connected the Lords Chamber in the south of the palace, via Central Hall (now Central Lobby), to the Commons Chamber in the north. The subjects were the 17th-century conflicts of the English Civil War (1742-9) and the 'Glorious Revolution' (1688) respectively.
These events had seen the successful curtailment of royal power at the hands of Parliament. How could these periods of national division and strife be depicted? It was decided that events revealing individual heroism or sacrifice on both sides would offer a fair and constructive interpretation. For example, the scheme includes Charles I Raising his Standard at Nottingham and the Burial of Charles I - but not his execution.
There were other schemes installed in the palace, but on the whole the immense project was never completed, largely running out of puff after the death of Prince Albert in 1861.
Published: 2005-02-07
