Queen Victoria

When it was established that the Greeks had in fact coloured their statues, Gibson responded with his Tinted Venus. The added naturalism provided by colour proved unacceptable to Gibson's supporters and very nearly wrecked his career. He survived, however, to become the grand old man of British sculpture in the Victorian era. From Italy, where he settled in 1817, he made visits to England in 1844, 1850, and 1861, and executed an austere portrait of Queen Victoria herself for the Houses of the Parliament in London.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 6 minutes): Sir Edward Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March op. 39 No. 1