It takes a split second these days to create an image, and how many millions are recorded daily on mobile phones, possibly never to be looked at again? You can see it all happening in the palatial surroundings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, definitely one of those tick-off destinations on many travellers' bucket lists, where those in search of instant pictorial satisfaction throng the imposing statue-lined staircase for a selfie or pout for a photo in the café under the spectacular cupola. But we're not in Vienna for a quick fix, we're at the KHM to admire something more enduring in the shape of art produced almost 500 years ago by Rembrandt and his pupil Samuel van Hoogstraten that was intended to mislead your eyes into seeing the real in the unreal. Artistic deception is the story at the centre of Rembrandt--Hoogstraten: Colour and Illusion , one of the most engrossing and best-staged exhibitions we've seen this year. And, somewhat surprisingly, a show wi...
When we think of the Royal Parks today, we think of vast breathing spaces in London for pleasure.... for picnicking, pop concerts, promenading, but Play, Protest and Pelicans: A People's History of the Royal Parks at the Garden Museum in Lambeth shows that these green spaces were not used just for popular pastimes in times past.
The provision of produce, privacy, policing, pets and of course the pelicans are all touched on in this small exhibition that also throws a sliver of light on the parks' role in both world wars. It's a show that dips its toe into the pool of some interesting stories but, alas, never really wades in.
The parks started out as royal hunting grounds and were only gradually opened up to the public. It's interesting to learn about 18th- and 19th-century battles for popular access to Richmond Park, and about the private gates that allowed wealthy local residents privileged access to Hyde Park (a selection of keys are on display). For many years, restrictions meant ordinary folk were forced to walk miles out of their way right round the outside of the parks instead of taking the shortest routes. In this view from around 1745, though, St James's Park looks almost as busy as it does today, with plenty of posing and posturing even if no one's taking a selfie.
While the pleasure-seekers in their finery enjoy themselves, working life goes on; in the middle ground cattle can be seen grazing watched by cow herders, no doubt providing the city's dairy needs. At the end of the alley of trees on the left a row of soldiers are drilling. A gentleman appears to be relieving himself against a tree next to the meadow, despite the fact that the Prince of Wales is in conversation just a few yards away.
The most remarkable animals in St James's Park have to be the pelicans, though they never get the same attention from the tourists as the ubiquitous grey squirrels. James I had a royal menagerie and aviary here, and pelicans were first introduced to the park in 1664 as a gift from the Russian ambassador.
Now, we'd have loved to hear a little more about the story behind the bowler-hatted man feeding the pelicans in this picture from 1936, but we didn't get it. Was he the official pelican keeper? Was the bowler part of the uniform or was this a special occasion? And what's in the bowl?
The caption in the exhibition states that over 40 pelicans make the park their home today, but that sounded a bit excessive (the most we've ever seen on our many walks through the park is a pod of five sitting on that little island in the lake). And a check on the Royal Parks website indicates there are six, each with their own name, with the 40 referring to the total number there have been down the years.
Exotic fauna have also been encountered in other royal parks. In the 1960s, Angela McWilliams could be seen taking her pet leopard for a walk in Kensington Gardens. She apparently bought it for £200 from a pet shop in Birmingham.
A bit of Googling uncovers a YouTube video where we find out that the leopard was called Michael and a bit more searching finds picture captions describing McWilliams as a part-time secretary (!?) who'd bought the leopard to replace a puma that died....
We did get something of an impression they hadn't done a huge amount of research in putting together this exhibition. The captions certainly aren't very well written. It's laid out in a rather muddled fashion. And it's all a bit haphazard.
After all, what's the most significant event ever to have happened in Hyde Park? No, not Winter Wonderland. Surely the Great Exhibition of 1851 in that technological marvel of the age, the Crystal Palace. It doesn't get much of a mention in this show, whereas there are rather too many pictures of military encampments.
Luckily, lots of other things have happened in Hyde Park: Speaker's Corner by Marble Arch is of course a very byword for the right to free speech. Here's the women's suffrage campaigner Sylvia Pankhurst speaking at an anti-Nazi rally in the 1930s.
With the outbreak of war against Nazi Germany, Hyde Park was again pressed into military use. In 1943, American soldiers could be seen in the Serpentine, demonstrating, presumably, how they planned to invade occupied Europe.
All very well, but a bit more on the use of the parks to grow vital vegetables to help the war effort might have been nice. This is the Garden Museum, after all....
A quarter of a century on from the war, though, all was hedonism. In July 1969, more than 250,000 gathered in Hyde Park for a concert by the Rolling Stones.
It's another big event that you feel is very underplayed, even with the display of a magazine cover with Mick Jagger wearing a white dress for the occasion. The curators don't mention the dress. And there's no reference, either, to the story of the Stones defying the park authorities and releasing hundreds of cabbage white butterflies at the start of their set. Apparently most of them died in the heat. "It was like the Somme," Charlie Watts said.
All in all, rather an unsatisfactory and frustrating show.
Man feeding pelicans in St James's Park, 1936, Courtesy of The Hearsum Collection
Leopard cub in Kensington Gardens, c. 1968
Sylvia Pankhurst at demonstration in Hyde Park, 1935. Acme Newspictures
US soldiers in the Serpentine, 1943. Acme Newspictures
Crowd at Rolling Stones Concert, Hyde Park, 1969
The provision of produce, privacy, policing, pets and of course the pelicans are all touched on in this small exhibition that also throws a sliver of light on the parks' role in both world wars. It's a show that dips its toe into the pool of some interesting stories but, alas, never really wades in.
The parks started out as royal hunting grounds and were only gradually opened up to the public. It's interesting to learn about 18th- and 19th-century battles for popular access to Richmond Park, and about the private gates that allowed wealthy local residents privileged access to Hyde Park (a selection of keys are on display). For many years, restrictions meant ordinary folk were forced to walk miles out of their way right round the outside of the parks instead of taking the shortest routes. In this view from around 1745, though, St James's Park looks almost as busy as it does today, with plenty of posing and posturing even if no one's taking a selfie.
The most remarkable animals in St James's Park have to be the pelicans, though they never get the same attention from the tourists as the ubiquitous grey squirrels. James I had a royal menagerie and aviary here, and pelicans were first introduced to the park in 1664 as a gift from the Russian ambassador.
The caption in the exhibition states that over 40 pelicans make the park their home today, but that sounded a bit excessive (the most we've ever seen on our many walks through the park is a pod of five sitting on that little island in the lake). And a check on the Royal Parks website indicates there are six, each with their own name, with the 40 referring to the total number there have been down the years.
Exotic fauna have also been encountered in other royal parks. In the 1960s, Angela McWilliams could be seen taking her pet leopard for a walk in Kensington Gardens. She apparently bought it for £200 from a pet shop in Birmingham.
We did get something of an impression they hadn't done a huge amount of research in putting together this exhibition. The captions certainly aren't very well written. It's laid out in a rather muddled fashion. And it's all a bit haphazard.
After all, what's the most significant event ever to have happened in Hyde Park? No, not Winter Wonderland. Surely the Great Exhibition of 1851 in that technological marvel of the age, the Crystal Palace. It doesn't get much of a mention in this show, whereas there are rather too many pictures of military encampments.
Luckily, lots of other things have happened in Hyde Park: Speaker's Corner by Marble Arch is of course a very byword for the right to free speech. Here's the women's suffrage campaigner Sylvia Pankhurst speaking at an anti-Nazi rally in the 1930s.
A quarter of a century on from the war, though, all was hedonism. In July 1969, more than 250,000 gathered in Hyde Park for a concert by the Rolling Stones.
All in all, rather an unsatisfactory and frustrating show.
Practicalities
Play, Protest and Pelicans: A People's History of the Royal Parks is on at the Garden Museum in London; the museum is closed over the New Year period but will reopen on January 7, and the exhibition then runs until February 9. Opening hours are from 1030 to 1700 Sundays to Fridays, and until 1600 on Saturdays. Full-price entry to the museum, including a climb up the medieval tower for a view across the Thames to Westminster, is £10. The Garden Museum is located right next to Lambeth Palace, 10 minutes walk from either Waterloo or Vauxhall rail and Tube stations.Images
Unknown artist, St James's Park and the Mall, c. 1745, Royal Collection Trust. © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019Man feeding pelicans in St James's Park, 1936, Courtesy of The Hearsum Collection
Leopard cub in Kensington Gardens, c. 1968
Sylvia Pankhurst at demonstration in Hyde Park, 1935. Acme Newspictures
US soldiers in the Serpentine, 1943. Acme Newspictures
Crowd at Rolling Stones Concert, Hyde Park, 1969
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