Temple of Science Episode 2 – 'God’s Own Museum': The Façade

Oxford University Museum of Natural History is a unique fusion of architecture, science and art. In this series of illustrated podcasts, recorded to accompany his book Temple of Science: The Pre-Raphaelites and Oxford University Museum of Natural History, John Holmes takes us on a guided tour of the art and architecture of the museum, revealing how leading scientists collaborated with artists of genius to create one of the great masterpieces of the Gothic Revival and Pre-Raphaelite art.

Episode 2
From the outset, Oxford University Museum wanted to teach the principles of natural history through art as well as science. In this episode we take a close look at the museum’s façade. The carvings round the windows, incorporating designs by John Ruskin and carved by the brilliant Irish stonemason and sculptor James O’Shea, revel in the vitality of nature, while the decorations round the main entrance remind us that, for the scientists in Victorian Oxford, natural history was the study of God’s creation.

John Holmes is Professor of Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Birmingham and an Honorary Associate of Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

[davidwilkie]

Thank goodness there was an Irish contribution.

[matta]

Do you still have Piltdown Man pictures?

I need some copies.

[shewhodares]

Didn't they travel by horse and cart?
Even the roads were quite primitive ..