Wandering in the V & A

 

Last week I had a post about an exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London that was either just arriving or was about to depart.  I thought I'd follow up with a post about some of the other things I saw while wandering in that fabulous museum.

Let's start with the spectacular Chihuly glass sculpture that hangs just inside the entrance hall.  I love Chihuly's wonderful glass works and I love seeing this one every time I visit this museum.

After admiring Chihuly's glass work, I wandered into a room full of sculptures from all over the world.

At the end of that room was a grand entrance portal.  

I moved on the another long room that was full of more sculptures and busts.

I admired this bust of George II dated 1760 by John Michael Rysbrack.  King George II died in 1760 so it is thought that this bust was created as a commemoration.  

This is Lady Catherine Stepney a novelist and London Society hostess.  She is credited with writing six novels.  The artist for this one is Richard Cockle Lewis. 

Near the row of white marble busts was this statue by Auguste Rodin.  The sculpture depicts St. John the Baptist.  The description says that the model for this sculpture was an Italian peasant.  

I'll finish this little walk around the museum with this bust of Albert Einstein.  It was created by Jacob Epstein in 1933.  Epstein had just fled Nazi Germany and was staying in a refugee camp in Britain when he created this sculpture.  Epstein later described Einstein's "wild hair floating in the wind".  He also wrote that "his glance contained a mixture of the humane, the humorous and the profound".  

These all are just a very, very few of the things to see at the V & A.  It's a place not to be missed.