Watercolours of the Great Exhibition

The Great Exhibition of 1851 took place at Hyde Park in a revolutionary glass and iron building known as the 'Crystal Palace'. It included over 13,000 exhibits and was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. It was extremely popular and attracted more than six million visitors - equivalent to a third of the population of Great Britain at the time. The profits from the exhibition were used to fund several science and art initiatives in South Kensington. They included what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose earliest surviving building was erected 150 years ago.

The eleven watercolours featured here were made just before the Great Exhibition opened. They are part of a larger group of images that were reproduced both as colour and monochrome lithographs in different versions of Recollections of the Great Exhibition, a lavish contemporary souvenir guide.

Henry Clarke Pidgeon, 'View in the West Nave'

Henry Clarke Pidgeon (1807-80)
View in the West Nave
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.6-2007
Purchased with the assistance of the Contributing Members of the Friends of the V&A

The large cross was designed and sculpted by the Hon. Harriet M. Ross of Rosstrevor, Ireland. It depicts scenes from the New Testament, including the Crucifixion in the centre and the Resurrection at the top. The polygonal glazed display case to the right belonged to Spiers & Son of Oxford. It contained objects and furniture made of papier mâché.

'View in the West Nave', after Henry Clarke Pidgeon, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.13

'View in the West Nave', after Henry Clarke Pidgeon, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.6

 

John Absolon, 'Part of the French Court

John Absolon (1815-95)
'Part of the French Court, No. 2'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.7-2007
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

The sideboard of carved walnut is the work of the Paris manufacturer Fourdinois. It was discussed in The Illustrated Exhibitor, 13 September 1851: 'the design of the artist is to make the ornamentation entirely subservient to its intended purposes'.

'Part of the French Court, No. 2', after John Absolon, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.49

'Part of the French Court, No. 2', after John Absolon, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.24

J. Michael, 'Part of the Fine Arts Court'

J. Michael (active 1841-61)
'Part of the Fine Arts Court'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.8-2007
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

This display includes examples of both secular and religious virtuoso carving. It is centred around an ornamental neo-Gothic font that was probably made by J. Castle of Oxford. The pair of mounted jug-shaped vases flanking the Crucifixion are by a London manufacturer called Egisippo Norchi.

'Part of the Fine Arts Court', after J. Michael, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.11

'Part of the Fine Arts Court', after J. Michael, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.5

John Absolon, 'Part of the China Court'

John Absolon (1815-95)
'Part of the China Court'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.9-2007
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

China did not respond to the invitation to submit work to the exhibition. As a result, the China Court comprised samples from the stock of a number of importers of Chinese goods. The principal of these was Hewett & Co. of Fenchurch Street.

'Part of the China Court', after John Absolon, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.33

'Part of the China Court', after John Absolon, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.15

John Absolon, 'View in the East Nave (Godfrey of Bouillon

John Absolon (1815-95)
'View in the East Nave (Godfrey of Bouillon, by Simonis)'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.10-2007
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

The centrepiece of the Belgian display was a plaster of the statue of the medieval hero Godfrey of Bouillon by Eugène Simonis. A bronze version stands outside the Royal Palace in Brussels. At the foot of the plaster are a number of smaller marbles by Simonis, including The Happy Child.

'View in the East Nave (Godfrey of Bouillon, by Simonis)', after John Absolon, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.37

'View in the East Nave (Godfrey of Bouillon, by Simonis)', after John Absolon, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.17

John Absolon, 'View in the East Nave (The Amazon

John Absolon (1815-95)
'View in the East Nave (The Amazon, by Kiss)'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.11-2007
Purchased with the assistance of the Contributing Members of the Friends of the V&A

This view shows objects from the Zollverein, the collective name for the German states belonging to the German Customs Union formed in 1834. A key exhibit was the massive zinc sculpture of The Amazon by August Karl Eduard Kiss. The original bronze version faces the Neues Museum in Berlin.

'View in the East Nave (The Amazon, by Kiss)', after John Absolon, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.35

'View in the East Nave (The Amazon, by Kiss)', after John Absolon, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.16

Henry Clarke Pidgeon, 'The Indian Court and Jewels'

Henry Clarke Pidgeon (1807-80)
'The Indian Court and Jewels'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.12-2007
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

The Indian items on display include jewellery, textiles and model boats. After the closure of the exhibition in October 1851, a parliamentary grant of £5000 was given to the V&A to finance the creation of its core collections. £1500 of this was spent on Indian manufactures, some of which were purchased from the exhibition.

'The Indian Court and Jewels', after Henry Clarke Pidgeon, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.29

'The Indian Court and Jewels', after Henry clarke Pidgeon, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.3

Edwin Thomas Dolby, 'Church Furniture'

Edwin Thomas Dolby (active 1849-65)
'Church Furniture'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.13-2007
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

This display included church furnishings and fabrics by the Bolton draper Gilbert French. A small advertisement for the firm can be seen in the lower left corner. Exhibits from the display of heavy machinery are visible in the right background.

'Church Furniture', after Edwin Thomas Dolby, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.17

'Church Furniture', after Edwin Thomas Dolby, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.8

Walter Goodall, 'The Indian Court and Elephant Trappings'

Walter Goodall (1830-89)
'The Indian Court and Elephant Trappings'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.14-2007
Purchased with the assistance of the Contributing Members of the Friends of the V&A

This work must have been painted before the exhibition opened, as the howdah at the back of the court is not yet on the stuffed elephant that appears in the subsequent lithograph. To the left is one of the elm trees that were incorporated within the temporary building for the duration of the exhibition.

'The Indian Court and Elephant Trappings', after Walter Goodall, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.27

'The Indian Court and Elephant trappings', after Walter Goodall, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.13

Henry Clarke Pidgeon, 'Part of the Russian Court'

Henry Clarke Pidgeon (1807-80)
'Part of the Russian Court'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.15-2007
Purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

The Russian Court included furniture made of malachite, a bright green mineral, by the St Petersburg firm of Demidoff. The large porcelain vase in the middle of the display is by the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory of St Petersburg. It is decorated with scenes after the 17th-century Dutch artist Nicolaes Berchem.

'Part of the Russian Court', after Henry Clarke Pidgeon, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.39

'Part of the Russian Court', after Henry Clarke Pidgeon, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.19

 

 

Walter Goodall, 'Part of the French Court

Walter Goodall (1830-89)
'Part of the French Court, No. 1 (Sèvres)'
1851
Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper
Museum no. E.16-2007
Purchased with the assistance of the Contributing Members of the Friends of the V&A

The title refers to the display of porcelain by the Sèvres factory visible in the background. The large ebony cabinet in the foreground was probably the combined work of the French foundry Barbedienne & Co. and their British agents, Jackson & Graham. Its bronze decorations are reduced versions by Jean-Baptiste Clesinger of works by Michelangelo and Ghiberti.

'Part of the French Court, No. 1 (Sevres)', after Walter Goodall, lithograph, 1851. From book in NAL, pressmark 110.F.16, p.47

'Part of the French Court, No. 1 (Sevres)', after Walter Goodall, colour lithograph, 1851. Museum no. 19538.23

Many of the objects in the illustrations can be identified in the four-volume catalogue of the exhibition. Copies of this can be accessed via the National Art Library.

The watercolours are recent acquisitions purchased with the assistance of The Art Fund, the Contributing Members of the Friends of the V&A and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. They were on display until 14th January 2008 and are now available to view via the Prints & Drawings Study Room. The colour lithographs are also available to view via the Prints & Drawings Study Room and the monochrome lithographs are available to view via the National Art Library.