Victoria memorial

victoria's memorial and its historical significance from its construction to the present.

1. (1906-1921 ) Designed by WILLIAM EMERSON VICTORIA MEMORIAL

2. The Victoria Memorial Hall was erected in Calcutta, the then capital of British India, to commemorate Queen Victoria. The project was conceived by Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905, who intended it to be a period museum in memory of the queen with particular emphasis on Indo-British history. Built on a 57-acre land and designed by Sir William Emerson (the then President of the Royal Institute of British Architecture), the splendour of the Memorial is evident in its architecture, which is predominantly Italian Renaissance in character, blended with nuances of Orientalism. Widely hailed as the finest specimen of Indo-British architecture in India, and often referred to as the ‘Taj of the Raj,’ the Victoria Memorial Hall had its foundation stone laid by the Prince of Wales in January 1906 and formally opened to the public in 1921. It was declared an institution of National importance by the Government of India Act of 1935. Today, the Victoria Memorial Hall is considered to be one of the best examples of a unique paradigm of the visual arts where four diverse fields of arts – architecture, sculpture, painting and gardening come together.

3. THE CITY History It was the capital of British India from 1772-1911 (140 Years) It is the only metropolis in Eastern India Economic Profile The importance of Kolkata as a trading centre was first recognized by the British East India Company in the 17th century Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern part of India It is a major port, and the only city in the region to have an international airport Socio-Cultural Profile It is a truly cosmopolitan city and is home to more than 15 different communities including international communities like Chinese, Armenians Kolkata is widely regarded as the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought

4. THE PLAN

5. Indo Saracenic Revival Architecture - Architectural style movement by British architects in the late 19th century in British India. It drew elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture, and combined it with the Gothic revival and neo-classical styles favoured in Victorian Britain. THE STYLE

6. THE ELEMENTS

7. Onion (bulbous) domes Overhanging eaves Pointed arches, cusped arches, or scalloped arches Colonnaded area on both sides Domed kiosks and many miniature domes Domed chhatris Pinnacles Towers or minarets Use of Makrana marble THE FEATURES

8. THE FEATURES

9. THE FEATURES CHEQUERED TILES

10. Total area of 64 acre with the building covering an area of 338sq.Ft by 228 sq.Ft . On way to the north gate is a bronze statue of Queen Victoria by Sir George Frampton.The Queen is seated on her throne, wearing the robes of the Star of India. Approaching the building from the south, visitors pass the King Edward VII memorial arch with a bronze equestrian statue of the King by Sir Bertram Mackennal surmounting it and a marble statue of Lord Curzon by F.W. Pomeroy, R.A. There are also other statues of various dignitaries like Lord Bentinck, Governor General of India (1828-1835), Lord Ripon (Governor- General of India from 1880 to 1884; the statue of Sir Rajendranath Mookerjee, the pioneer industrialist of Bengal is on the eastern side. THE GARDEN

11. BIRD’S EYE VIEW

12. THE ELEMENTS Wall and Wall treatment: Walls of the monuments were painted in white and off white color. The walls were having smooth finish. Inside the dome the side area on the wall had stones fixed on them. The stone were Makrana marble fixed like brick design on the walls. Stones were in white color, smooth in finish and rectangular in shape. The stone wall was deeply engraved with the text of imperial declaration speech given by the Queen Victoria. The doors and windows were made up of wood and some of them were framed with glass and dark brown in polished colour .

13. Ceiling and Ceiling treatment : The monument has geometrical ceiling patterns with creative cornices designs. They were all white in color. Distemper paint was used over the ceiling. The designs on the ceilings were matching with the room size and shape having square and rectangular patterns. THE ELEMENTS

14. Accessories : The monument displayed many accessories like pictures and statues. The statues were life sized and white in color reflecting the craftsmanship of the sculptor. The pictures were in color and in black and white too. The pictures were of all sizes with golden frames and were straight as well as ornamental in design. They were quite heavy in weight. THE ELEMENTS

15. Furniture : The furniture in the monument included storage cabinets, open shelf, tables, chairs and side table. Some of the furniture’s were made up of Mahogany wood with polish applied on them. They were having smooth finish, dark brown in color. They were heavy, strong and sturdy. The tables were made up of Sheraton style with straight legs and sharp corners. The chairs had legs designed like ball and claw types. The back of the chair had curved design due to which it is called ribbon back chairs. THE ELEMENTS

16. Lighting : There were not any specific colonial lighting fixtures and lights. The modern lights like the fluorescent tubes, incandescent bulbs and the spot lights were installed above the paintings displayed on the walls of the central hall of the monument. THE ELEMENTS

17. Highlighting Features of the monument: It is a prominent building and art museum of Calcutta under the Department of Culture, Government of India. The main collections of the Victoria Memorial show cases Western Paintings, Sketches, Indian Paintings and Company school drawings, Archive, Arms and Armour , Lithographs, Aquatints, Mughal Miniatures, Manuscripts, Rare Books, Postage Stamps, Sculptures created by renowned artists and three thousand five hundred articles associated with the everlasting memory of Queen Victoria THE ELEMENTS

18. THE ARCHITECTURE The Victoria Memorial's architect was  William Emerson  (1843–1924), president of the  Royal Institute of British Architects . The design is in the  Indo-Saracenic revivalist style  which uses a mixture of British and  Mughal  elements with  Venetian ,  Egyptian ,  Deccani  and  Islamic  architectural influences. The building is 338 by 228 feet (103 by 69 m) and rises to a height of 184 feet (56 m). It is constructed of white  Makrana marble . The gardens of the Victoria Memorial were designed by  Lord Redesdale  and  David Prain . Emerson's assistant,  Vincent Jerome Esch , designed the bridge of the north aspect and the garden gates. In 1902, Emerson engaged Esch to sketch his original design for the Victoria Memorial. After designing the temporary exhibition building for the  Delhi Durbar  of 1903, Curzon found Esch to be a suitable assistant for Emerson. Atop the central dome of the Victoria Memorial is the 16 ft (4.9 m) figure of  the Angel of Victory . Surrounding the dome are  allegorical sculptures  including  Art ,  Architecture ,  Justice , and  Charity  and above the North Porch are  Motherhood ,  Prudence  and  Learning . In design it echos the  Taj Mahal  with its dome, four subsidiaries, octagonal-domed  chhatris , high portals, terrace, and domed corner towers.

19. THE ENTRANCE

20. THE MUSEUM The Victoria Memorial has 25 galleries. These include the royal gallery, the national leaders gallery, the portrait gallery, central hall, the sculpture gallery, the arms and armoury gallery and the newer, Calcutta gallery. The Victoria Memorial has the largest single collection of the works of  Thomas Daniell  (1749–1840) and his nephew, William Daniell (1769–1837). It also has a collection of rare and  antiquarian  books such as the illustrated works of  William Shakespeare , the  Arabian Nights  and the  Rubaiyat  by  Omar Khayyam  as well as books about  kathak  dance and  thumri  music by  Nawab Wajid Ali Shah . However, the galleries and their exhibitions, the programmatic elements of the memorial do not compete with the purely architectural spaces or void.

21. THE MUSEUM Royal G allery The Royal Gallery displays a number of portraits of Victoria and Prince Albert, and paintings illustrating their lives, by Jansen and Winter halter. The oil paintings are copies of those in London. They include: Victoria receiving the sacrament at her coronation in Westminster Abbey (June 1838); Victoria's marriage to Albert in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace (1840); the christening of the Prince of Wales in Windsor Castle (1842); the marriage of Edward VII to Princess Alexandra (1863); Victoria at the First Jubilee service at Westminster Abbey (1887) and the Second Jubilee service at St. Paul's Cathedral (June 1897). Victoria's childhood rosewood pianoforte and her correspondence desk from Windsor Castle stand in the centre of the room. Edward VII presented these items to the Victoria Memorial. On the south wall hangs the Russian artist  Vasily Vereshchagin's oil painting of the state entry of Edward VII in Jaipur in 1876.

22. THE MUSEUM Calcutta G allery In the mid-1970s, the matter of a new gallery devoted to the visual history of Calcutta was promoted by Saiyid Nurul Hasan, the minister for education. In 1986, Hasan became the governor of West Bengal and chairman of the board of trustees of the Victoria Memorial. In November 1988, Hasan hosted an international seminar on the  Historical perspectives for the Calcutta tercentenary . The Calcutta gallery concept was agreed and a design was developed leading to the opening of the gallery in 1992 .  The Calcutta gallery houses a visual display of the history and development of Calcutta from Job Charnock (1630–1692) of the English East India Company to 1911, when the capital of India was transferred to New Delhi. The gallery also has a life-size diorama of Chitpur road in the late 1800s.

23. THE EVENTS Over the years the memorial has not only emerged as one of the most famous tourist destinations of Kolkata but has also remained a favourite spot for family and friends apart from holding a special place for lovebirds. As night falls, lighting of the Victoria Memorial makes it look even more mesmerizing.

24. VICTORIA MEMORIAL AT NIGHT

25. REFERENCES http://indiaheritagehub.org/2013/12/31/indian-museum-kolkata/ http://www.indianmuseumkolkata.org/Architecture%20through%20the%20Ages.php http://indianmuseumtt.org/Plan%20Your%20Visit.php http://www.victoriamemorial-cal.org/ kolkatainformation.com Herbert E. W.  "Flora's empire: British gardens in India."  Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture, University of Pennsylvania Press. Morris J.  "Stones of the empire: Vaughan P.  "The Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta: conception, collections, conservation."  Marg Publications, Nation Centre for the Performing Arts (India) 1997 the buildings of the Raj." Oxford University Press www.culturalindia.net https://knowindia.gov.in/culture-and-heritage/monuments/victoria-memorial.php