Richard I, Coeur de Lion
Baron Marochetti
1851 (side panel reliefs, 1866)
Bronze, on a granite plinth
Old Palace Yard, outside the House of Lords
Westminster, London W1
This twelfth-century crusading king had a special meaning for the Victorians, largely because of his romanticised portrayal” by Sir Walter Scott in Ivanhoe (see Ward-Jackson 185). He seemed to represent Britain's heroic past, and all that was best in the British character — zeal, energy and courage.
Marochetti was first commissioned to make a plaster cast of him for the Great Exhibition, where the huge, dramatic sculpture was installed at the western entrance to greet visitors. [Continued below]
Photograph, caption, and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2010