The Great Exhibition, 1851: Eve by Van Der Ven

Photograph of a marble statue of Eve depicted sitting naked on the ground. Her right leg is bent and positioned beside her body whilst her left leg is stretched forward. She places her right hand beside her left cheek. She gazes down at a serpent positioned beside her right leg. The serpent holds an apple in its mouth. The sculpture in by Johanne Antonius van der Ven (1799-1866) and was exhibited in 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).