Collections | International Exhibitions | The official showcase of the nations | International exhibitions and new urban architecture [7 Objects, 1 Monuments]

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Introduction to the Chapter

The Alhambra Court

1854

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

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 Justification for this item

When the Great Exhibition closed on 11 October 1851 the Crystal Palace Company bought the structure and reconstructed it at huge expense at Sydenham. Philip Henry Delamotte photographed the reconstruction of the Crystal Palace between 1851 and 1854. He also took this picture of the “Alhambra Court” designed by Owen Jones and inspired by his extensive studies of the palace.

The Alhambra Court

1854

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

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Guernsey and Jersey, Malta and Ceylon (from Dickinson's Comprehensive Pictures of the Great Exhibition)

1854 (publication of the book)

The British Library

London, United Kingdom

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This painting of the interior of Crystal Palace is by Owen Jones. It shows how the Exhibition was on two levels, the upper floor hosting exhibitions about “all nations” separated by huge tapestries. Yellow, blue and red dominated the colour scheme used tastefully throughout in accordance with contemporary decorative taste.

The Nubian Court; Interior view of The Crystal Palace in Sydenham

c.1854

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

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The Crystal Palace constructed at Sydenham had an additional two storeys added to it; each “Court” of the new Great Exhibition would illustrate a particular period in history. To this end, Matthew Digby Wyatt and Owen Jones travelled the world making plaster casts of significant sculptures and monuments. This print shows the “Nubian Court” designed by Jones. The life-size replicas of Pharaohs and Sphinxes provide a sense of the building’s scale.

Crystal Palace in Oporto

1863

Soares dos Reis National Museum

Porto, Portugal

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 Justification for this item

Palacio da Cristal, built a decade after its template in London, was designed by Thomas Dillen Jones for the International Exhibition held in Porto in 1865. By hosting this exhibition with around 3,000 international exhibitors, Portugal sought not only to keep pace with progress but also to promote its colonial empire.

Crystal Palace in Oporto

1863

Soares dos Reis National Museum

Porto, Portugal

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Portuguese Industrial Exhibition on Avenida de Liberdade: View of the pavilion at the entrance to the exhibition

1888

Photography Archive, Lisbon City Council, CML

Lisbon, Portugal

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The 19th-century World’s Fairs signal the transnational networks between the European and the Arab worlds. In 1888, Lisbon, the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire, organised an Industrial Exhibition. This photo, depicting a group of people under the entrance arch, captures the event.

Portuguese Industrial Exhibition, General view of Avenida de Liberdade

1888

Photography Archive, Lisbon City Council, CML

Lisbon, Portugal

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 Justification for this item

In this general view of the Avenida da Liberdade (Avenue of Liberation) in Lisbon, the top of one of the pavilions built for the Exhibition of 1888 is visible. The image contextualizes the popularity of this exhibition showing the surrounding area populated by people, vehicles, trees and buildings.

Portuguese Industrial Exhibition, General view of Avenida de Liberdade

1888

Photography Archive, Lisbon City Council, CML

Lisbon, Portugal

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National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome

1911

Rome, Italy

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The Fine Arts pavilion, built for the International Exhibition held in Rome in 1911, was intended to house the National Gallery of Modern Art permanently after the Exhibition closed. Designed by the architect Cesare Bazzani (1873‒1939), the building presented an opportunity for significant expansion of the city to the north, on both banks of the Tiber.

A retrospective: Preparations for the exhibition of 1889 - the Eiffel Tower under construction

1936

National Library of France

Paris, France

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 Justification for this item

On the occasion of the Exhibition held in Paris in 1889, France wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution and also her own savoir-faire and creativity. The Eiffel Tower, an audacious construction made of steel, has come to symbolise not only the Exhibition but the whole of Paris.

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Introduction to the Chapter