After the UK’s official departure from the EU, there’s been much talk about the end of one era and the beginning of another. But history is never that simple. The latest exhibition at Tate Britain, British Baroque: Power and Illusion (on until April 19) paints a more nuanced picture of our relationship with Europe and the long story of Britain’s national identity.
When we started planning this show a few years ago, I could never have imagined how topical it would feel. We haven’t had any royal beheadings lately, and our politicians don’t wear powdered wigs. However, broader questions about the monarchy and Parliament feel freshly relevant, just as they did when Charles II was restored to the throne or when William and Mary replaced James II. The latter event — the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688 — ushered in the two-party politics we know today, and the British are still asking questions about the nature of power, or its abuse, in ways that date back to that era.
When Charles II returned to London in 1660, his focus was on re-establishing the monarchy in a way that expressed the magnificence he had seen in the courts of Europe. Our exhibition opens with a vast portrait of him in the guise of Neptune, charging through the waves on a giant seashell. It’s a vision of absolute rule more reminiscent of Roman emperors than British royals.
In the decades that followed, British monarchs, aristocrats and the political elite followed suit by turning to artists from the continent. Newly settled in Britain, these artists created theatrical ceiling paintings for vast new country estates and glamorous portraits of their owners in rich fabrics, advertising their power and influence. These paintings were made by artists from the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy and Hungary, making the very idea of “British Baroque” contentious and somewhat contradictory. Britain’s culture was closely intertwined with that of other countries, just as it is today.
When visitors to the exhibition see Christopher Wren’s drawings of St Paul’s Cathedral, they aren’t just witnessing the birth of a landmark, they are seeing plans for a completely new London inspired by, and competing with, the classical grandeur of Paris and Rome.
As well as the Restoration, the era also witnessed the union with Scotland and wars that defined Britain’s role on the European stage. It was an age of mercantile expansion and confidence which led to Britain’s global domination and its sense of being exceptional — a feeling that shaped the following centuries and explains many attitudes today.
National identity is always created in an international context. To that end, I hope this new exhibition offers something of a long-distance perspective. British Baroque proves national self-image is formed through comparison and exchange with other cultures, particularly those closest to home.
Alex Farquharson is Director of Tate Britain
