Re-viewing the ‘bad’ arts of Tudor and Stuart England

According to popular histories art during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England was ‘under attack’ from axe-wielding reformers.

The advent of Protestantism has long been associated with destruction and a decline in visual experience within a culture focused on the Word. Scholars have been perplexed and rather embarrassed that England hardly participated in the European Renaissance, mentioning Holbein and Hilliard as exceptions in an otherwise bleak artistic landscape. Such narratives have, however, overlooked the rich body of vernacular artworks produced during the Tudor and Stuart periods, and scholarly neglect has had real-world consequences for the survival and preservation of historic artefacts.

In her inaugural lecture, Tara argues that deeply engrained value judgements about what constitutes ‘art’ or serious historical evidence have produced a distorted and partial version of Tudor and Stuart history. Refocusing on long-neglected visual and material evidence allows us, quite literally, to see this period differently, allowing access to the lived experience of religious reform, social mobility and culture wars during this transformative phase of British history. Recovering a more authentic, early modern way of seeing can also bring significant heritage assets back into view, making the case for their ongoing protection and display and securing their preservation for future generations.

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Host or Publisher University of Birmingham