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Baroque and roll at the V&A
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent1 Apr 2009
THE French invented the Baroque style in the 17th century as an exercise in economic stimulus - and it went on to rule the world.
That is the claim from the creators of a new blockbuster exhibition on the opulent style associated with all that is over the top.
Michael Snodin, co-curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, said there could be lessons for today.
"The French court style was a deliberate economic creation," he said.
"They decided they would devise a style that was distinctly French and good taste and they would get the best people to make things in that style and they would conquer Europe.
"They didn't want to pay for Venetian glass or for mirrors or furniture, for example. They wanted to make it themselves.
"It was a time when power was expressed in court consumption and where you got your stuff from was important."
The epitome of the Baroque is the magnificence of the great palace that Louis XIV created at Versailles.
Charles Le Brun, the court artist, then took the style and created a brand that the French exported worldwide, Mr Snodin said. They were helped by the Catholic Church which adopted it for its own ends in promoting the faith.
Many things we now take for granted in everyday life, from cutlery and wine coolers to proscenium arch theatre and city planning, were first adopted at the time of the Baroque.
But Mr Snodin said although the style was ostentatious, it was ostentatious with a reason.
"It was promoting kings, promoting the Church. It's not a style of over-decoration, it's about using ornament and design to control people. It is serious," he said.
The exhibition suggests that the Baroque was the world's first truly international style.
It includes about 200 Baroque objects from as far afield as the Philippines, Mexico and Peru to support that contention.
Visitors will also see depictions of the Palace of Versailles, rare furniture and a tapestry made for Louis XIV and art and architectural and sculptural designs by Rubens, Borromini and Bernini.
The show coincides with the anniversaries of the death of Handel and the birth of Purcell, two of the giants of Baroque music-making.
Baroque 1620-1800: Style in the Age of Magnificence opens this Saturday and runs until 19 July. With admission charge.
Reader views (1)
Great to have an exhibition on this subject. However, Italians and others may questions the claim that France invented the style.
- John W, Ottawa, Canada, 01/04/2009 13:30
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