Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V & A ), founded in 1852 under the name of the South Kensington Museum, is located on Cromwell Road in Kensington, West London and houses the largest collection of arts and design in the world. It was visited in 2010 by 2.6 million people. Since 1 September 2011, it is headed by the former Director-General of the State Art Collections in Dresden, Martin Roth.

History

The Victoria & Albert Museum took as a collection of plaster casts, engravings and a few exhibits of the World Exhibition in 1851 its beginning. Along with the art patron Henry Cole created Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, then a concept for a museum, which should show the " application of the art in the craft " - as a model for the British people. Cole, the first director, floated a museum for design and crafts in a commercial context before, not crafts for the sake of arts and crafts. This philosophy is represented today. The modest museum with the high-flying ideas was first housed in a couple of wooden huts, then in the so-called Brompton Boilers. It quickly became larger. Objects of study for the students were gathered, donations were arriving: British painting by John Sheepshanks, the collection Bandinel with porcelain and ceramic and the collection Gherardini with models and sculptures. Several rooms were grown piece by piece, so that the central square yard including Osthöfen arose; the galleries of Aston Webb were added from 1899 to 1909 at the front. However, later had to take off whole departments to open as branches of the Victoria & Albert Museum or independent museums elsewhere: the Science Museum about, the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood and the Theatre Museum. In the 20th century, the museum then expanded into the adjacent Henry Cole Wing. The plan was initially a sensational new wing, The Spiral, to a design by Daniel Libeskind. The new building was controversially discussed in the public, since in many cases it was argued, he joined only inadequate in the historic building complex one. For lack of understanding the immense construction costs ensured in the amount of 70 million pounds, which should be largely financed from funds of the State Lottery. However, 2001 started preparations for construction. 2004 turned out that the Heritage Lottery Fund going to use the expected funds elsewhere. Since the museum's management saw no way to apply the construction costs on their own, they finally decided to abandon the project.

Collections

The exhibits range from early Christian devotional about Doc Marten boots and paintings of John Constable to mystical art from Southeast Asia. In addition, the V & A museum contains interesting sculptures, watercolors, jewelry and musical instruments.

One of the most impressive parts of the museum are the cast of farms, which consist of two large two-story rooms. They are home to hundreds of plaster casts of sculptures, friezes and tombs. One room is dominated by a full-scale replica of Trajan's Column, which is shown in two parts. The other shows replicas of various works of the Italian Renaissance, including Michelangelo's David. Earlier interpretations of David by Donatello and Verrocchio, are also on display. Among the curiosities include the Great Bed of Ware, as well as Tipu's Tiger.

The V & A also hosts the national collection of sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Neptune and Triton Fountain and Antonio Canova's Three Graces. The museum also houses a part of the oldest surviving carpet in the world. It is the larger and well-preserved Persian carpet of the Ardabil carpet couple.