magnificent and rich materials of which it was made. These were described by Garner in his article: ‘The entire Altar Screen is executed in white Parian marble, with bands and panels of Rosso Antico, Verde di Prato, and Brescia marble. The enrichments are generally gilt. The steps in front of the Altar are of white marble, 4
Garner 1890, p. 168.
and the pavement of Rosso Antico, Brescia and Verde di Prato like the reredos.’4 ❡❡❡
The erection of the reredos and the casting and assemblage of its many elements were undertaken by the firm of Farmer and Brindley, established in 1851 by William Farmer (1825-79), later joined by William Brindley (18321919). Farmer and Brindley were Bodley and Garner’s contractors of choice for this type of work, as they enjoyed a very high reputation for the best-quality architectural sculpture work, mainly in marble, but also in materials such as wood. The Cathedral’s Verger Robert Green recorded in his diary the start of work on assembling the reredos in the Cathedral on 9 August 1886 and the 5
Sinclair 1909, pp. 344-45.
6 The Times, 26 January 1888, p. 109; Illustrated London News, 31 March 1888,p. 341.
service of dedication of the completed altarpiece on 25 January 1888.5 According to contemporary reports in the Times and the Illustrated London News,6 the sculptural elements were designed by a French sculptor Jean Guillemin, who also undertook the carving of some of the most important elements, including the Crucifixion scene and the statue of the Virgin and Child. Guillemin must also have undertaken the carving of the very beautiful panels with the Nativity, Entombment and Resurrection, executed in a dignified neo-Gothic style, quite different to the graceful Italianate mood of the angels. These on the other hand were the work of two brilliant young Italian sculptors, Attilio and Furio Piccirilli, who in 1887 when they joined the teams working on the St. Paul’s reredos, had just arrived in London from their native Carrara.
The Piccirilli Brothers
Attilio and Furio Piccirilli are famous today as American sculptors, master Fig. 1 (opposite): The Bodley/ Garner reredos in situ in St. Paul’s Cathedral
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carvers responsible for creating some of the most important monuments in the United States of America, including the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.