High Drama
THE GIANTS of Baroque art aren’t British. Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velázquez, Poussin, and Vermeer cast the period’s longest shadows, and none of them hail from the British Isles. Perhaps that’s why Tate Britain hasn’t once since its inception in 1897 staged an exhibition about the late 17th century. With its current show “British Baroque: Power and Illusion,” which runs through April 19, the London museum sticks a flag in fresh soil.
The show chronicles the period 1660–1714, a historic time of upheaval and its aftermath in Britain. It’s safe to say that where history is tumultuous, art is interesting. This is clearly attested by
