Mosaics at Westminster Cathedral

Decoration started by Members of Arts and Crafts Movement Continues

Apr 5, 2008

The mosaic decoration of the Cathedral started by Robert Anning Bell and Robert Weir Schultz has been continued by Boris Anrep, Christopher Hobbs and Justin Vulliamy.

The architect of Westminster Cathedral, John Francis Bentley, died in March 1902 before the completion of his major project in 1903. The vast walls and domes were left bare for future generations to decide how to decorate. Even the windows were plain green Venetian glass and not the stained glass so popular in England's gothic churches such as York Minster with its magnificent Great West Window.

The Cathedral's founder, Cardinal Vaughan, took the initiative and asked twelve prominent catholics, six clerics and six laymen, to suggest appropriate themes. But with Bentley's death in 1902 and Vaughan's death not long after nothing came of these ideas. Bentley left very few drawings or instructions and it fell to his successor, John Marshall and his committee, to organise the interior decorations. They chose marble and mosaics but one hundred years later this artistic project is still incomplete. The mosaics so far installed are vibrant and dazzling and each chapel has its own personality.

The Lady Chapel - Robert Anning Bell RA

Some of the Cathedral's most beautiful mosaics were created by Robert Anning Bell RA (1863-1933) whose name is linked to the Arts and Craft Movement. Anning Bell, Professor of Decorative Art at the Glasgow School of Art, had already created a mosaic for the Horniman Museum in London when he was asked to produce designs for the altar of the Lady Chapel. The walls of the Chapel had been lined with marble in 1908 and a frame above the altar had been left undecorated. Anning Bell's design, completed in 1913, depicts the Tree of Life.

St Andrew's Chapel - Robert Weir Schultz

The architect Robert Weir Schultz, also linked to the Arts and Crafts Movement, (1860-1951) was invited to design mosaics for St Andrew's Chapel. The mosaic shows St Andrew as patron saint of Scotland and Greece. The floor of the Chapel represents a river with numerous marine creatures swimming in it to remind us that St Andrew was a fisherman.

Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament - Boris Anrep

In the 1950s Russian artist Boris Anrep (1883-1969) contributed several mosaics to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. He created a sense of bright light by using a mainly pale pink background. The installation of the mosaics took two years to complete and Anrep was assisted by Justin Vulliamy whose mosaic of St Christopher can be found in the north aisle. It is believed that Vulliamy also created mosaics of St Joachim and St Anne.

Chapels of St Joseph and St Thomas Becket - Christopher Hobbs

Christopher Hobbs is also responsible for mosaics in St Joseph's Chapel. Hobbs's design shows St Joseph as a carpenter surrounded by craftsmen building the Cathedral. This artist has provided many other mosaics including those in the Chapel of St Thomas Becket. Hobbs' mosaic of St Alban was installed in June 2001.

Decoration of the Cathedral is by no means complete. A new mosaic by Tom Phillips RA, commemorating Cardinal Newman, is planned for the near future. Further information about the mosaics and marble decoration of Westminster Cathedral can be found on their website.The church is open Monday to Saturday from just before the first mass at 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. On Sunday the church is open until after the last mass at 7 p.m. Entrance is free but all donations are put to good use.

Source:

The copyright of the article Mosaics at Westminster Cathedral in Modern Art History is owned by Frances Spiegel. Permission to republish Mosaics at Westminster Cathedral in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.