The Week 22Feb2020

ARTS 35

22 February 2020 THE WEEK

Art

Baroqueartwasadynamic,

oftenbombasticstylethat

producedsomebreathtaking

paintings,saidJonathan

JonesinTheGuardian.

PrevalentinBritainfromthe

early 160 0s,itenjoyedits

goldenagehereduringthe

reignofCharlesI,who

commissionedbaroque

masterssuchasRubensand

vanDyck.Soitissomewhat

inexplicable,then,that

BritishBaroque,Tate

Britain’s“comically

inadequate”surveyofthe

style,skipsthiseraentirely

andinsteadlimitsitselfto

exploringthehalfcentury

betweenCharlesII’s

restorationin 1660 andthe

deathofQueenAnnein

17 14. Completelybypassing

thegreatestachievementsof

the baroqueinthis country,

it insteadbringstogether

dozensofderivativeportraits,

stilllifesand sculpturesalongsidevariousmanuscripts, pieces of

furnitureandarchitectural drawingsfromtheperiod.Baroque art

rejoiced in“movement, passion and abundance”; ifonlythesame

couldbesaidofthisshow.“RestorationBritainmayhave been

outrageous and dirty(ineverysense),butit wasnotboring.”

True, it’s a“ratherdrilymuseological”experience,saidRachel

Campbell-JohnstoninTheTimes.Nevertheless,it’s aninteresting

look atan“often overlooked”period, andthebest oftheexhibits

speakforthemselves.Highlights includeAntonio Verrio’s

“ludicrous”TheSeaTriumph

ofCharlesII(c.1674),which

depictsthekingasa

“modern-dayNeptune”

surroundedby“trumpet-

blastingmaidens”and

classicalputti;andasilver

chandelierthatonce

“shimmeredattheheartof

Whitehallsocialgatherings”.

Moreintriguingstillarethe

show’s“revelatory”insights

intothisperiod,during

whichBritaintransitioned

fromabsolutistmonarchy

toparliamentarydemocracy.

Oneofthefinalexhibits

isJohnJamesBaker’s

TheWhigJunto(1710),

depictingagroupofdistinctly

un-regalpoliticians;asa

representationofpower,

it couldhardly bemore

differentfromVerrio’s

celebrationof divine rights.

Theshow’s“chiefinterest”

comeswithasectiondevoted toarchitecture,said Jackie

Wullschlägerinthe FT.Thegreat visualgeniuses oflate 17th

centuryEngland were itsarchitects:Christopher Wren,Nicholas

Hawksmoor and JohnVanbrugh,who are here representedby

sketches and models.Aparticularthrill isaseriesof“beautiful”

preparatorydrawingsfor StPaul’sCathedral,showing its

conceptioninfascina tingdetail.Elsewhere,however, this

“uneven”exhibition failsto disguise the fact that the Restoration

was “British art’smostexcruciatinglydullepoch, lackingasingle

noteworthypainter”.It isapretty“disheartening”experience.

Exhibitionoftheweek British Baroque: Power and Illusion

Tate Britain, London SW1 (020-7887 8888, tate.org.uk). Until 19 April

TheBlueMan of Njombé,this latest

show by painter MarcPadeu (b.1990)

bring stogetheranumberof paintings

basedon scenes from the everyday life

of bananacultivators inhisnative

Cameroon. Depicting family dinners,

cigarettebreaks andpeopl erelax ing in

their livingrooms,theypresent intimate

views thathave theeffec tofmakingthe

spectator feelsomewhat intrusive,an

uninvitedvisitor farfromhome. Padeu

is asuperb colourist, transforming these

unremarkablescenesintoexplosions of

brightcolour;ino ne example, he turns

abanana grower’s footballshirtintoa

blazingredbeacon thatsings across the

gallery. The useofs uch intensecolour

is not justastylisticchoice :itm ay seem

odd thatsome of themen depicted

sportbrightorange hair, but repeated

exposure to chemicals used in banana

cultivationoftenhavethe effect of

producing just such an unwanteddye

job. Uncomfortabledetail slikethis

run thro ughthese works,adding up

to asoberingportrait of theglobalised

fruit industry. Prices rangefrom

£18,000 to £25,000.

13 Mason’s Yard, London SW1

(020-7930 8999). Until28 February.

Verrio’s Sea Triumph of Charles II: baroque taken to its “ludicrous” limits

Wheretobuy...

The Week reviews an

exhibition inaprivate gallery

Marc Padeu

at Jack Bell Gallery

Detail from From 60 till now (2019)

Forthe

firsttime

incenturies,

tentapestries

designedby

Raphaelhave

beenreturned

totheirrightful

placeonthe

lowerwalls

oftheSistine

Chapelin

Rome,saysTomKingtoninTheTimes.

Raphaelwascommissionedin1515byPope

LeoXtos ketchoutscenesfromtheActsofthe

Apostles,whichwereturnedintotapestries

wovenwithsilk,goldandsilverbyexpertsin

Brussels.Theywerehunginthechapelbeneath

hisgreatrivalMichelangelo’spaintingsofthe

OldTestament–butwerepawn edtopa yoff

thepope’sdebtsafterhisdeath.Theywerelater

repurchasedandstolenonvariousoccasions,

beforeeventuallyfindingtheirwaybacktothe

Vatican.Nowtheyhavebeenrestored,and

thisweek,justforaweek–tom arkthe500th

anniversaryofRaphael’sdeath–visit orscan

seethetapestriesastheyweremeanttobe

seen.“Canyouseetheharmony?”said

DrAlessandraRodolfo,aVaticancurator.

“TheSistineChapeliscompleteagain.”

TheSistineChapelrestored

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