The Great Exhibition, 1851: Godfrey de Bouillon by Simonis

Photograph of a plaster statue of a male figure on horseback, wearing full chainmail armour, a crown and a tunic with a cross on the chest area. He holds a shield on his left arm and raises a banner with his right hand. The horse has its left foreleg raised and stands on a plinth surrounded by at least four much smaller sculptures of young children. The sculpture is by Louis-Eugène Simonis (1810-93) and was exhibited at the Great Exhibition.

This photograph is from Volume IV (RCIN 2800003) of ' Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, 1851: Reports by the Juries on the Subjects in the Thirty Classes into which the Exhibition was Divided'. The incredibly successful Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, commonly known as the Great Exhibition, ran from May to October 1851. At the exhibition's conclusion, over 100 copies of the four volume 'Reports by the Juries' were distributed to foreign governments and notable participants. The reports consist of the juries' comments and assessments of the works displayed in the exhibition. The idea and decision to illustrate the reports with photographs is attributed to Prince Albert (1819-61).