Winter Break: English Gothic and Gothic-Revival Art and Architecture

Greetings from gloomthy London!

We began the day with a brisk trot to Parliament. After a thorough pat down and a brief lip balm scare, we made it past the machine-gun toting guard and into the old Westminster Hall of Parliament. The hall is the only remaining part of the original Parliament building (that burned in a fire in 1834). Once there, our tour guide, the charming but enigmatic Deputy Principal Doorkeeper, shared with us his favorite Westminster Hall anecdotes including the sentence for the beheading of Charles I. Baird and Tony were asked to assist the guide with a dramatic reenactment of the scene that culminated in Charles' treasonous action of leading soldiers onto the Parliament grounds. On the tour, we saw the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the procession of the House of Commons speaker. Our guide taught us that in the Parliament all that glistens really is 23-carat gold leaf, and that Michael Jackson was a devoted lover of Pugin. But Jackson was unsuccessful in purchasing the queen's swoon-inducing throne at any price.

After a pause for some authentic British fish and chips we followed Baird to the Tate Britain like nine ducklings desperately avoiding traffic. Despite less than ideal temperatures, lighting, and wall hangings, the museum had a great collection of Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood paintings. Everyone was impressed to see the details of the paintings, such as Ophelia by Millais, that the pixelated images of ArtStor are unable to capture. The nominees for the 2010 Turner Prize paled in comparison to the works of the Brotherhood.

The Williams family welcomed us into their beautiful flat for dinner tonight. They served us a scrumptious spread of Turkish food and English dessert cakes fit for Pugin. We were all thankful to make a Carleton connection across the pond and for a toasty fire after a long day. We were the only party on the Tube carrying two canvas bags full of leftovers.

Cheers!

The Desperate Romantics

[CG & MM]