Natural History Museum

Having never visited the Natural History Museum before it was certainly a long overdue experience. My lifelong love of nature, and its influence upon my art is very important, so the opportunity to visit a the museum at last was seized enthusiastically.

The buildings facade was certainly an impressive, breath-taking one. Known as the Waterhouse Building, after its visionary architect Alfred Waterhouse, the Victorian building is a fantastic example Waterhouse's work, and of German Romanesque architecture in England.

The interior of the building is no less impressive than the exterior, with grand arched doorways, high ceilings and most impressive of all, countless unique stone carvings. Waterhouse has skillfully woven the purpose of the building into its very fabric, with the beautiful stone carvings of various flora and fauna. These charming creatures can be found throughout the building hiding in dark corners and lofty places, often overshadowed by the exhibits themselves, my favourites were the bats.
Waterhouse said that he 'hoped that the Gothic revival would be more than a mere revival - that it would turn from a revival into a growth.', which is a noble statement, and demonstrates Waterhouses commitment and dedication to the beauty of Gothic Revival architecture in Victorian England.