British Baroque: Pomp and power in an age of change

Name: British Baroque: Pomp and power in an age of change
Uploaded: 2025-08-03T14:28:57.186Z
Duration: 6 min 43 s
Channel: Baroque Art

Baroque Art

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2 Video Views·Aug 3, 2025

(3 Feb 2020) LEAD IN:
As Britain embarks on a new chapter in its history, a London art museum is exploring another pivotal era in the country's past.
Tate Britain is opening a new exhibit dedicated to baroque artworks made during the reign of the last Stuart monarchs, when England and Scotland joined in union, and party politics were on the rise.

STORY-LINE:
Pomp and power in a pivotal age. London's Tate Britain art museum is opening a new exhibit thought to be the first-ever dedicated to baroque culture in Britain.
It charts from the restoration of Charles II in 1660 to the death of the last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne, in 1714.
A "pivotal, critical era", according to curator Tabitha Barber.
"Not only does it span the last reigns of the Stuart moments, from 1660 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714, I think a lot of really important things that set Britain on a course that's lasted for the past 300 years occurred," she says.
"There are major events that everyone's familiar with, like the Great Fire of London, the Great Plague. But it's also this journey from the restoration of the monarchy to the reign of Queen Anne, where party politics would really take centre stage."
While baroque is usually associated with European courts, particularly that of French King Louis XIV in Versailles, the exhibit shows how it also thrived in Britain, but in somewhat different circumstances.
Charles II used the art to show the pomp and power of a renewed monarchy, particularly the splendour and colour of his royal court.
According to Barber, it was "an expression of magnificence".
"People expected people to be magnificent," she says.
"If you're a person of wealth and status, then it was almost your duty to have lavish displays of grandeur.
"So, I suppose what this exhibition is, although we haven't necessarily deliberately followed a style, but we have deliberately followed this outward expression of grand, magnificent display."
Most artists featured in the exhibit are European, only three are British born.
The exhibit features several key works, including two newly restored paintings from Petworth House in England's West Sussex.
These two paintings by artist Michael Dahl from the 1690s – both of aristocratic women – had been folded and shortened 200 years ago to make room for more paintings on the wall.
Conservators restored them to their full, original length. They're now being shown in their original form for the first time in 2 centuries.
"The Sea Triumph of Charles II", by Italian painter Antonio Verrio, encapsulates the themes of power and magnificence, explains assistant curator Tim Batchelor.
"We've had basically the best part of 15 years of war with the Dutch for supremacy over the seas and finally in the mid 1670s, we win the war and this is Charles II as the victor, the victor over the Dutch, command of the seas, control of the seas, in this large mythological allegorical work by Antonio Verrio," he says.
The exhibit also features a newly identified painting: "Equestrian Portrait of a Lord Mayor of London" by John Closterman is being shown to the public for the first time.
It was acquired by the Banque de France in the early 20th century, in the belief it was a portrait of the Grand Dauphin, the eldest son of Louis XIV.
Experts recently re-evaluated the painting, realising the elaborate mayoral regalia clearly represented a Lord Mayor of London, not a member of French royalty.
By the end of Queen Anne's reign, the power and influence of the British monarchy was facing increased competition.

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It was a really pivotal, critical era of British history. Not only does it span the last reigns of the Stuart Monarchs from 1660 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714, I think a lot of really important things that set Britain on a course that's lasted for the past 300 years occurred. There are major events that everyone's familiar with, like the Great Fire of London, the Great Plague, but it's also this journey from the restoration of the monarchy to the reign of Queen Anne, where party politics really take centre stage. I think what this exhibition is about is an expression of magnificence, which was at the heart of proclaiming your influence and status in society. People expected people to be magnificent. If you're a person of wealth and status, then it was almost your duty to have lavish displays of grandeur. So I suppose what this exhibition is, although we haven't necessarily deliberately followed a style, but we have deliberately followed this outward expression of grand, magnificent display. We've had basically the best part of 15 years of war with the Dutch for supremacy over the seas. And finally, in the mid-1670s, we win the war, and this is Charles II as the victor, the victor over the Dutch, command of the seas, control of the seas, in this large mythological, allegorical work by Antonio Verrio, the Italian master of Baroque ceiling and staircase paintings. You did an interview with Tabby Forehand, didn't you? I'm sure she said about how this is the first. It was a bit dirty, and when they cleaned it, they realised that the insignia on the horse, the pearl sword and the background suggested it wasn't the Grand Vodafone, but it was in fact a Lord Mayor of London. And so a painting that has been discovered, cleaned, rediscovered, and is being exhibited here for the first time. So many artists are foreign-born who've come here and made their careers here. This interchange of culture between the rest of Europe and Britain can't be ignored in this exhibition. It's absolutely critical to the shaping of the art culture of the time. So I suppose we can draw parallels there. And politically, it is the age of major events. You may think, I suppose, that 300 years later, a great cycle of history is coming to an end and a new chapter is beginning. Questions about the union with Scotland are being up for debate at the moment. This was the great age of Europe taking its central role in Europe, and now we're rethinking that.