Baroque 1620-1800: Style in the Age of Magnificence at Victoria and Albert Museum on artrepublic.com
Exhibition running from Apr 01 2009
until Jul 19 2009
The magnificence and splendour of Baroque, one of the most opulent styles of the 17th and 18th centuries, is the subject of this exhibition. The exhibition reflects the complexity and grandeur of the Baroque style, from the Rome of Borromini and Bernini to the magnificence of Louis XIV's Versailles and the lavishness of Baroque theatre and performance. On display will be religious paintings by Rubens and Tiepolo while silver furniture, portraits, sculpture, a regal bed and court tapestries will conjure up the rooms of a Baroque palace. The exhibition will be the first to examine all the elements of the Baroque style and will show how, as European power spread, Baroque style reached other parts of the world, captured in objects such as a gilded Mexican altarpiece. Baroque 1620 – 1800 will bring together around 200 objects to examine the flourishing of the Baroque style during the era that saw the establishment of great European and colonial empires ruled by absolute monarchs and the continuing power of the Roman Catholic Church. Displays will cover architecture, furniture, silver, ceramics, painting, sculpture, and textiles. The exhibition will explore the Baroque style in performance and the theatre; the public city square; religious spaces including St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and secular spaces such as Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles. Mark Jones, Director of the V&A said: “2009 will see a year of celebrations of Baroque music and style. Baroque is one of the most exuberant and dazzling design styles there has even been, an expression of European power and magnificence in the 17th and 18th centuries. Our exhibition will be the first to examine all the elements of Baroque including architecture, art and design and will look at how it established itself through Europe and then internationally as European power grew overseas.” Baroque 1620 – 1800: Style in the Age of Magnificence coincides with the year of the anniversaries of the death of Handel and the birth of Purcell which will be marked byBaroque ‘09 – a year of events celebrating Baroque music and style. OPENING HOURS: Daily: 10.00 - 17.45 Fri: 10.00 to 22.00 Image Credits: Slide Show: Silver mirror, table and stands, Gerrit Jensen, London, 1676-81, ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel The Descent from the Cross (centre panel of triptych), Peter Paul Rubens, Antwerp, 1611, © The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London Altarpiece of the Virgin of Sorrows Mexico, c. 1690, © Fundacion Televisa, Mexico  |
