Monument to the Colonial Forces of Australia, Canada, Ceylon, New Zealand and South Africa who fell in the Boer War. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848–1939). 1905. Bronze. H 500 x W 140 x D 80 cm (E). Accession no. 2495. Image credit: St Paul's Cathedral. Located in St Paul's Cathedral, London. [Image reproduced on the under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC)Commentary and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. Click on the images to enlarge them.]
An angel with great unfurled wings leans over the crucified sufferer and tenderly raises him by the hands. The gesture is moving, and the whole ensemble is dynamic, in the manner of the New Sculpture, but it is hard to appreciate the faces at these angles and heights. The Princess chose Mary Lloyd as her model for the angel's face.
Left: The inscription. Right: Princess Louise's signature at the bottom of the inscription.
The memorial is inscribed to the memory of the 4,300 "sons of Britain beyond the seas who gave their lives for love of the motherland in the South African war 1899-1902."
Links to Related Material
- Mary Lloyd - The Face of an Angel, Part IV
- The New Sculpture and the Old Sculpture in Victorian Britain
Bibliography
Monument to the Colonial Forces who Fought in the South African War (1899–1902). Art UK. Web. 25 September 2024.
Created 25 September 2024