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Tate Britain scraps explanatory panels next to works of art Tate Britain scraps explanatory panels next to works of art
(4 months later)
Visitors to Tate Britain are in for a shock. It may take a while to register. When it does, the revolution perpetrated by the museum's director, Penelope Curtis, explodes into view.Visitors to Tate Britain are in for a shock. It may take a while to register. When it does, the revolution perpetrated by the museum's director, Penelope Curtis, explodes into view.
There are no explanatory texts by the works of art.There are no explanatory texts by the works of art.
Those wordy white panels telling visitors what paintings or installations mean have long been a controversial feature of the Tate galleries – often criticised but always there. Now they are gone, as part of a radical rethink at Tate Britain that also sees more paintings on its walls, sculptures on its floors and history in its bloodstream than ever before.Those wordy white panels telling visitors what paintings or installations mean have long been a controversial feature of the Tate galleries – often criticised but always there. Now they are gone, as part of a radical rethink at Tate Britain that also sees more paintings on its walls, sculptures on its floors and history in its bloodstream than ever before.
This week Tate Britain opens A Walk Through British Art, a total restaging of its permanent collection that reverses most of the decisions this museum made when it opened under its present name in 2000. Gone are the "thematic" hangs, rejection of chronological displays and sometimes minuscule representation of its enormous collection of British art. In comes a return to history, and even patriotism.This week Tate Britain opens A Walk Through British Art, a total restaging of its permanent collection that reverses most of the decisions this museum made when it opened under its present name in 2000. Gone are the "thematic" hangs, rejection of chronological displays and sometimes minuscule representation of its enormous collection of British art. In comes a return to history, and even patriotism.
A Walk Through British Art feels like a walk through Britain itself. Not all of it is beautiful, not all of it is glamorous, but it's our country all right. And there is so much to discover when you open your eyes. This display, which Curtis promises will stay in place for a long time (overturning another Tate tradition, the regular rehang) abounds in masterpieces, curiosities and discoveries. All the treasures are on view, from William Hogarth's painting of his servants to David Hockney's A Bigger Splash, from Francis Bacon's 1972 Triptych of George Dyer's suicide to a cheerful group portrait of Mr Oldham and his Guests enjoying their pipes painted by Joseph Highmore in the 18th century.A Walk Through British Art feels like a walk through Britain itself. Not all of it is beautiful, not all of it is glamorous, but it's our country all right. And there is so much to discover when you open your eyes. This display, which Curtis promises will stay in place for a long time (overturning another Tate tradition, the regular rehang) abounds in masterpieces, curiosities and discoveries. All the treasures are on view, from William Hogarth's painting of his servants to David Hockney's A Bigger Splash, from Francis Bacon's 1972 Triptych of George Dyer's suicide to a cheerful group portrait of Mr Oldham and his Guests enjoying their pipes painted by Joseph Highmore in the 18th century.
The famous and the forgotten hang side by side in chronological order. This display glories in the advantages a straight chronological arrangement has over curatorial "interventions". Arranging art in order of when it was made does not impose anything on the visitor. It gives everyone the freedom to see connections, make comparisons, and lose themselves.The famous and the forgotten hang side by side in chronological order. This display glories in the advantages a straight chronological arrangement has over curatorial "interventions". Arranging art in order of when it was made does not impose anything on the visitor. It gives everyone the freedom to see connections, make comparisons, and lose themselves.
Obviously you don't really have to walk it in order, from Hans Holbein to Richard Wright. You can flit around as you like. But in each gallery, there is a deep and rich sampling of a particular moment in British art. The early galleries have an unexpected star – Sir Joshua Reynolds. In the late 18th century this painter, theorist and first president of the Royal Academy dominated the British art world. Nowadays he is often thought of as a bit tedious compared with his brilliant contemporary Joseph Wright of Derby, say. But here his masterpiece The Archers, two youths arcing and straining athletically as they fire their arrows, hangs between Wright's fiery forge and erupting volcano – and wins the face-off.Obviously you don't really have to walk it in order, from Hans Holbein to Richard Wright. You can flit around as you like. But in each gallery, there is a deep and rich sampling of a particular moment in British art. The early galleries have an unexpected star – Sir Joshua Reynolds. In the late 18th century this painter, theorist and first president of the Royal Academy dominated the British art world. Nowadays he is often thought of as a bit tedious compared with his brilliant contemporary Joseph Wright of Derby, say. But here his masterpiece The Archers, two youths arcing and straining athletically as they fire their arrows, hangs between Wright's fiery forge and erupting volcano – and wins the face-off.
It's the kind of surprise that makes A Walk Through British Art a total delight. In later rooms, Eduardo Paolozzi's sci-fi collages compete with Bill Brandt's nude photographs, Sarah Lucas with Richard Hamilton.It's the kind of surprise that makes A Walk Through British Art a total delight. In later rooms, Eduardo Paolozzi's sci-fi collages compete with Bill Brandt's nude photographs, Sarah Lucas with Richard Hamilton.
Yet what truly stands out, from the sensitive choices of real gems of artworks to their spacious yet detailed placing in sumptuously redecorated galleries, is the passion for British art that fuels this epic display. It makes the case for British art, not just today but since the 1500s, as abounding in originality, ripe with personality, and often unexpectedly beautiful. It is a revelatory journey to meet the British.Yet what truly stands out, from the sensitive choices of real gems of artworks to their spacious yet detailed placing in sumptuously redecorated galleries, is the passion for British art that fuels this epic display. It makes the case for British art, not just today but since the 1500s, as abounding in originality, ripe with personality, and often unexpectedly beautiful. It is a revelatory journey to meet the British.
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