Secular Spaces and the Baroque

Man's silk velvet theatre costume with silver strip and thread embroidery, Italy, 1740–60. Museum no. S.92-1978

The Theatre

The theatre was a setting for magnificent productions of drama, ballet and opera, which was a new art form at that time. Using ornate costumes, complex stage sets and ingenious machinery, these performance were the source of wonder and awe.

Theatre was popular both with the public and at court, where members of the royal family and nobility often took part. Written by Jean-Baptiste Lully for the court of Louis XIV, the opera Atys was so popular with the King that it became known as 'the King's opera'. The pen and ink design by Jean Berain is for the costume of Hercules, one of the dancers in the Prologue. He is shown in a ballet pose, wearing a Roman-style costume, and identified by his club and lion skin.

It was not pure entertainment; theatre also played a vital role in the rivalries and power struggles between European courts. Rulers vied to outdo each other in the magnificence of their productions. In France theatre and opera also became a key element of Louis XIV's (reigned 1643–1715) cultural policy, used to control the nobility and add to the propaganda of the 'Sun King'. In the early 18th century the theatre building itself acquired new importance as proof of courtly or civic power and new buildings across Europe established the theatre types we know today.

Pen and ink costume design by Jean Berain, for Hercules in the opera Atys, Paris, France, 1676. Museum no. S.1108-1982

The Square

Throughout Europe, politically significant occasions were marked with public celebrations that had real national and international importance. Rituals such as a coronation or state funeral marked regime change, while celebrations of royal birthdays and marriages, military victories and visits by foreign dignitaries, drew attention to new developments in the nation's political life. Typically, these events took place out of doors, with the Baroque city playing host to elaborately designed spectacles. Urban squares such as Piazza Navona in Rome and Place Louis-le-Grand (now Place Vendôme) in Paris were the backdrop for fireworks displays, lavish theatrical performances and processions in fancy dress.

Equestrian events, such as the carousel, were another key component of Baroque festivity. Displays of good horsemanship were viewed as a type of performance art, on a par with opera, ballet and virtuoso musicianship.