The Great Exhibition, 1851: Arethusa by Thrupp

Photograph of a marble statue of Arethusa, one of the Nereids, represented as a semi-nude female figure reclining on her left side. She supports her weight with her left arm and rests her right arm on her head. The lower half of her body is covered with drapery. The sculpture by Frederick Thrupp (1812-95) 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).