“The works themselves refute geographical separatism”: Exhibiting the Baroque in Cold War Britain

Abstract

This article examines the collaborative exhibition Baroque in Bohemia (1969) to analyse the significance of the baroque style in Cold War cultural diplomacy between Britain and Czechoslovakia. The exhibition’s intended purpose and its ultimate lack of impact is contextualized by wider geo-political events, notably the Soviet suppression of the Prague Spring. It argues that the ambiguity of the term ‘baroque’ was helpful to the organizers, simultaneously emphasizing links with Western European artistic heritage and proclaiming a distinctive national style apart from Soviet control. However, the wider British public’s apparent lack of understanding of baroque aesthetics undermined the curators’ aim of demonstrating ‘solidarity’ between the Czech people and the West.

Keywords

• baroque
• Cold War
• exhibition
• art
• cultural diplomacy
• Britain
• Czechoslovakia