Thursday, September 8, 2011

Painting of the Day: The Coronation of King George IV at Westminster Abbey, 1821

Coronation of King George IV
A.C. Pugin, 1821
The Victoria & Albert Museum
The opulent coronation of King George IV took place on July 19, 1821 and was concluded by a lavish banquet at Westminster Hall. George IV took great pains in making sure that the celebration was a fitting tribute to his tastes and what he considered to be his tremendous importance. No one can be sure what George IV was thinking when he approved the huge expense of the coronation. Perhaps he wasn’t thinking at all. Perhaps he only considered the satiation of his own wants. Or, maybe—possibly—he hoped that allowing the people of Britain to see such a spectacle in his honor might convince them to raise their opinions of him. It didn’t. Throughout his reign, he was largely loathed and vilified with good reason.

Here, we see a watercolor painting of the coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1821. The painting by Augustus Charles Pugin (relative of A.W.N. Pugin—one of the designers of the Palace of Westminster—and member of the famed Pugin family) serves not only to record the coronation, but also as a topographical drawing of the Abbey as it was in 1821. This view of the event depicts the moment when Archbishop of Canterbury placed the Crown on the King's head, and is seen from the vantage point of looking down the choir and nave of the Abbey.


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