V&A leads celebration of 'dazzling' age

London is set to go Baroque next year when the Victoria and Albert Museum heads a cavalcade of events celebrating the style epitomised by Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.

Following blockbuster shows on styles from Art Nouveau to Modernism, the V&A will present Baroque 1620-1800: Style In The Age Of Magnificence.

It coincides with the 250th anniversary of George Frideric Handel's death and the 350th anniversary of Henry Purcell's birth.

The importance of music and performance to what is the most intensely theatrical of styles will be reflected in concerts and events at institutions from the Barbican and the Proms to the Handel House Museum, Wigmore Hall and Glyndebourne.

The V&A exhibition will be the first to include all manifestations of Baroque opulence, from candlesticks to sledges, instead of just focusing on important artists such as Peter Paul Rubens and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Announcing details today, Mark Jones, the museum's director, said: "Baroque is one of the most exuberant and dazzling design styles there has ever been, an expression of European power and magnificence in the 17th and 18th centuries.

"Our exhibition will be the first to examine all the elements of Baroque including architecture, art and design."

Michael Snodin, the curator, said the style started with Rubens's work in Antwerp after he had studied Renaissance and classical art in Italy, and with Bernini's work in Rome, where he transformed part of St Peter's Cathedral with an ornate Baroque canopy.

The style spread partly because the Catholic church used art to counter Protestantism, he said.

It was also adopted by royalty across Europe as a way of reinforcing their importance. "It was a very serious style. It's just not being silly or over elaborate," Mr Snodin said. "Showing off was part of being a king."

Among the highlights will be a cabinet by Domenico Cucci, from the Gobelins workshops of the French royal family.

It is a rare example of furniture that was once at Versailles. Most did not survive the French Revolution. The show will also include a giant Mexican altarpiece as well as stage sets from the Czech Republic and costumes from the Swedish royal court. There will be artwork and furniture from Brazil, Peru, Indonesia and India.

The exhibition runs from 4 April to 19 July with admission charge. BBC Radio 3 and the Proms will feature Baroque music throughout the year.