The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Splendidly ugly’ artworks to go on public display for first time
A selection of “splendidly ugly” artworks will be going on public display for the first time.
Diamond magnate and Victorian millionaire Julius Wernher amassed one of the greatest private art collections in Europe after making his fortune in South African diamonds.
Alongside more traditionally beautiful objects, such as Renaissance paintings, rare French porcelains, tapestries and furniture, he collected unusual looking artworks such as small medieval carvings depicting skulls and rotting skeletons.
They, along with hundreds of other works of art, will be going on show at English Heritage owned Ranger’s House in Greenwich, south-east London, having previously only been accessible by guided tour.
Wernher coined the phrase “splendidly ugly” for many of the treasures that he loved.
“Sir Julius Wernher had a distinct eye for quality, fine materials and craftsmanship and collected objects from across Europe and beyond,” Dr Sarah Moulden, curator of collections at English Heritage, said.
“His particular passion was for what he called the ‘splendidly ugly’, artworks mainly from the medieval and Renaissance periods, which were typically small, unusual in their subject matter and expertly crafted from rare or richly embellished materials.”
Many are religiously infused pieces such as memento mori: small objects encapsulating “the fear of going to Hell, a portable reminder to continually affirm your devotion to God”.