What: TV documentary series
When: March - April 2014
Where: BBC Two
Presented by: Dr James Fox
In 1986, the famous art historian and curator Sir Roy Strong published a book entitled 'Henry, Prince of Wales and England's Lost Renaissance'. Almost thirty years on, the belief that England - or Britain more widely - missed out on the cultural phenomenon that enveloped continental Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries has more or less been surpassed by an understanding that Britain instead experienced its own, unique, Renaissance. This understanding was beautifully showcased in this three-part series written and presented by Dr James Fox, who brought us the stylish and original 'A History of Art in Three Colours'. It also builds on the messages of excellent recent exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery, such as the 2012-13 revisionist show on the aforementioned Henry, Prince of Wales - the focus on which was on his sad status as the 'Lost Prince', rather than the 'Lost Renaissance' - and the recent exhibition 'Elizabeth I and her People'. Both have brought a renewed focus and attention to this important period in British art.
In true Renaissance fashion, these three episodes focused not only on art, but also on architecture, science, philosophy, music and literature. The most successful moments were those accompanied by breathtaking visuals - such as sketches by Holbein from the Royal Collection; Thomas Tresham's astonishing Triangular Lodge; and Inigo Jones' beautiful pen-and-ink designs for Jacobean masques (though the masques were more or less dismissed as elitist, which sadly precluded a more nuanced engagement with these fantastical court theatricals.) Regardless, Fox's enthusiasm for the subject matter and brilliant storytelling technique, combined with some sophisticated arguments - particularly in the second episode, on Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' - made this series unmissable for any lover of art and culture.
