Ideology
The Albert Memorial
Lead-in questions:
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Who had this memorial built and why?
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Can you think of any other memorials which were built to commemorate the loss of a greatly loved wife or husband?
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Apart from Albert, this memorial depicts lots of other people such as composers, poets, engineers, scientists and groups from four different continents (Africa, Asia, America and Europe). What do you think the reason for this is? (Clue: think about where and when the memorial was built.)
Now think again about your answer to question 1.
Task 1
Read the following article and answer the qestions below:
The Albert Memorial
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
| (1) |
The Albert Memorial is ____1____ in Kensington Gardens, London, England, ____2____ to the north of the Royal Albert Hall. It was ____3_____ by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha who died of ____4____ in 1861, and designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the ____5____ revival style. |
| (2) |
Opened in 1872, with the statue of Albert ceremonially “seated” in 1875, the memorial consists of an ornate ____6____ containing a statue of Prince Albert facing south. This is surrounded by the ____7____ sculptural Frieze of Parnassus, which depicts 169 individual composers, _____8____, poets, painters and sculptors. There are two allegorical sculpture programs: four groups depicting Victorian ____9_____ arts and sciences (agriculture, commerce, engineering and manufacturing), and four more groups representing Europe, Asia, Africa and The Americas at the four corners, each continent-group including several ____10____ figures and a large animal. The sculptor Henry Hugh Armstead coordinated this massive effort among several artists of the Royal Academy, including Hamo Thornycroft. |
| (3) |
By the late 1990s the Memorial had fallen into a state of some ____11____. A thorough ____12____ was carried out which included cleaning, repainting and re-gilding the entire monument as well as carrying out structural repairs. In the process the cross on top of the monument, which had been put on ____13____ during an earlier restoration attempt, was ___14____ to its correct position |
| (4) |
The ____15____ of the Memorial is a seated figure of Prince Albert. Following restoration, this is now covered in gold leaf. For eighty years the statue had been covered in black paint. Various ____16____ had existed that it was deliberately blackened during World War I to prevent it becoming a target for Zeppelin bombing raids or domestic anti-German ____17____. However, English Heritage’s research prior to the restoration suggests that the black coating predates 1914 and may have been a reponse to atmospheric ____18____ that had destroyed the original gold leaf surface. |
In each paragraph of the text above there are some missing words indicated by the numbered gaps. Put the number of the gap where you think the words below should go to make the text complete. You may need to use a dictionary.
Task 2
Write a short description of a famous Hungarian statue or memorial. Begin by saying where it is and who built it, when and why (if you know ), then desrcibe what it looks like and what it is made of. Finally, add any other details which you can think of.