Sculpture victorious: art in an age of invention, 1837-1901

Abstract

Sculpture Victorious highlights the diversity, originality, and ubiquity of sculptural production during the reign of Queen Victoria. This lavishly illustrated book examines how colorful marbles, bronzes, finely wrought silver, and exquisitely detailed electrotypes, as well as gems, cameos, and porcelain, related to and contributed to the contemporary world. In an age of unprecedented territorial expansion, sculpture reflected the power of the British empire; at the same time, increased access to materials and resources facilitated artistic production and innovation. The partnership between art and industry was equally generative and creative, enabling daring explorations of sculpture’s possibilities, both political and aesthetic. Bringing to bear a range of materials including statuary, reliefs, models, drawings, and objets d’art, as well as prints, photographs, and paintings, this stunning tome assembles, for the first time, the vibrancy, inventiveness, and modernity of Victorian sculpture.