Recording Angels

This oil cartoon depicting two cherubs with scrolls, mounted on a gilded background, was created by Edward J. Poynter in 1878. Poynter was an English painter, designer, draughtsmen, and later the president of the Royal Academy of Arts. He spent many years abroad in places such as Rome and Paris. The style that was desired for the decoration of the Cathedral was Italian, it was requested that the decoration of the dome was to be ‘in a similar style to St Peters at Rome’. One can see this desire displayed here in this cartoon. However, the designs of Poynter, such as this one, were not deemed a success. This is due to the fact that the dome was too large of such art and the lack of good lighting of the area meant that it would have been impossible for people standing in the crossing to the see the works.