The Inauguration of the Great Exhibition
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| The Inauguration of the Great Exhibition | |
|---|---|
_-_The_Inauguration_of_the_Great_Exhibition,_1_May_1851_-_RCIN_407143_-_Royal_Collection.jpg) | |
| Artist | David Roberts |
| Year | 1852 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, history painting |
| Dimensions | 86.4 cm × 152.4 cm (34.0 in × 60.0 in) |
| Location | Royal Collection |
The Inauguration of the Great Exhibition is an oil on canvas history painting by the British artist David Roberts, from 1852. It features a panoramic of the opening of the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park on 1 May 1851. It is held at the Royal Collection.[1]
Queen Victoria and the royal family, including Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal, are shown under a baldacchino canopy in the centre. On the left an equestrian statue of the queen produced by Thomas Thornycroft is visble.[2]
After being impressed by the smaller oil painting he had produced of the scene, the Queen and Albert commissioned Roberts to produce a larger and more detailed version of the event. They made constant suggestions for alterations for the work in a series of meetings they had with an artist.[3] The painting was displayed at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition of 1853 at the National Gallery, in London. It was given as a gift by Victoria to Albert and was hung at Buckingham Palace. It remains in the Royal Collection.[4]
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