Tag Archives: Handel

Enlightened Princesses

Enlightened Princesses: Caroline, Augusta, Charlotte and the Shaping of the Modern World, Kensington Palace, until November 2017

Queen Caroline of Ansbach, Joseph Highmore c.1735,
Royal Collection Trust c Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

This fascinating exhibition has come to Kensington Palace from the Yale Center for British Art where it understandably attracted so much interest while there. It considers the part played by three German Protestant princesses at the court of the Hanoverian Kings who ruled 18th century Britain. A legacy that can still be seen in today’s monarchy.

Enlightened Princesses – Installation view
(c) Historic Royal Palaces

The three princesses concerned are Caroline, consort of George II; her daughter-in-law Augusta, who was married to Frederick Prince of Wales and Charlotte (Augusta’s daughter-in-law), consort of George III. In many senses they were the right women in the right place as Britain was embracing the ideas of the Enlightenment and the princesses’ intelligence and curiosity combined with their exalted status allowed them to foster and support the new ideas.

Queen Charlotte, Johann Joseph Zoffany 1771,
Royal Collection Trust c Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

Scientists, authors and even musicians such as Handel were all drawn to their drawing rooms. They encouraged medical advances such as inoculation and were involved in the establishment of London’s Foundling Hospital. Plants and wildlife were another interest that all three shared and Kew Gardens is part of that legacy. They also supported British trade and manufacturing.

Enlightened Princesses – Installation view
(c) Historic Royal Palaces

The exhibition succeeds in bringing both their private and public world to life.  The Yale Center for British Art’s director Amy Meyers sums it up: “Caroline, Augusta, and Charlotte had sweeping intellectual, social, cultural, and political interests, which helped to shape the courts in which they lived, and encouraged the era’s greatest philosophers, scientists, artists, and architects to develop important ideas that would guide ensuing generations”.

The Flying Squirrel, Plate T-77, Mark Catesby
c The Royal Board of Trustees of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

www.hrp.org.uk

Christening robe made for future George IV, ivory silk satin c. 1760
(c) Historic Royal Palaces

FOUND – a re-interpretation of the past

FOUND: An exhibition curated by Cornelia Parker, The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London WC1, until 4th September 2016
“In order for something to be found, it has to at some point in its history to have been lost”

Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Found), 2016 © Rachel Whiteread

Rachel Whiteread,
Untitled (Found), 2016
© Rachel Whiteread

This is a hugely engaging exhibition which has been curated by Foundling Fellow Cornelia Parker RA. The idea for it comes from the Museum’s 18th century tokens, a variety of small objects left by mothers as a means of identifying their offspring should they ever be in a position to return to the Foundling Hospital to claim their child.

Bob and Roberta Smith, I Found Love, 2016 © Bob and Roberta Smith

Bob and Roberta Smith,
I Found Love, 2016
© Bob and Roberta Smith

Cornelia and more than sixty invited artists have explored the theme of “found” either through new works or found objects which are displayed alongside the Museum’s historic collections. The involvement of artists recalls the support of William Hogarth and the composer Handel in the Foundling Hospital’s early days.

Thomas Heatherwick, Seventy Years of Stirring, 2015 © Thomas Heatherwick. Photograph by Ed Lyon

Thomas Heatherwick,
Seventy Years of Stirring, 2015
© Thomas Heatherwick.
Photograph by Ed Lyon

Among the artists taking part in this exciting show are:Ron Arad RA, Phyllida Barlow RA, Jarvis Cocker, Richard Deacon RA, Tacita Dean RA, Jeremy Deller, Edmund de Waal, Brian Eno, Antony Gormley RA, Mona Hatoum, Thomas Heatherwick RA, Christian Marclay, Mike Nelson, Laure Prouvost, David Shrigley, Bob and Roberta Smith RA, Wolfgang Tillmans RA, Marina Warner, Gillian Wearing RA and Rachel Whiteread.

Alison Wilding, Cellar Frog,2016 © Alison Wilding. Photograph by Ed Lyon

Alison Wilding,
Cellar Frog,2016
© Alison Wilding.
Photograph by Ed Lyon

foundlingmuseum.org.uk