United Kingdom

A

Historical Context of the Arts

The United Kingdom has a long history of excellence in the arts. British contributions to literature are remarkable in their richness, variety, and consistency. For many centuries in Britain and elsewhere, art and music were the domain of the nobility, who patronized the arts and set the tone and style into the Victorian era. Britain’s artistic output was focused on literature in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the country came late to Renaissance influences in art and architecture that had been prevalent on the Continent since the 15th century. As a Protestant nation, Britain did not experience the full flowering of the baroque era that followed the Renaissance in Roman Catholic countries, such as Italy and Spain, during the 17th and 18th centuries (see Baroque Art and Architecture). English style during the late 18th century was more reminiscent of the classical world of the Greeks and Romans. In the 19th century, a movement called romanticism sought to make art more emotional. Exotic places, the beauty of nature, and fascination with the Middle Ages were themes that became the hallmarks of romantic artists and writers.

During the Victorian era Britain became the world’s first urban, industrialized society, and a vast middle class developed. More people had the time, education, and inclination to appreciate the arts, and the middle class developed an interest in literature, art, and music. A close relationship evolved between this large audience and the creators of art and literature because authors wrote about and painters depicted characters, situations, and scenes either familiar or interesting to large numbers of middle-class people. Although some of the works created were trite and ordinary, such as sweet paintings of dogs and children, many others were not.

The time and money spent on the arts continued to increase during the 20th century, particularly after World War II ended in 1945. Popular music and film have had the widest audiences, although classical music and ballet still attract significant numbers of people. In the postwar era, serious musical compositions came from modern composers such as Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle. Britain attained prominence in modern sculpture through the work of Sir Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and others.

B

Cultural Traditions Today

London has the greatest concentration of theaters, orchestras, and galleries, and is also the main home of the print and broadcast media, and of the fashion, recording, motion picture, and publishing industries—as such, it often seems to dominate modern British culture. However, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the regions of England all have vigorous cultural traditions that have contributed to and still enrich all aspects of British life. The traditions and abilities of the various ethnic minorities are also reflected in modern British culture, notably in music and literature, and are celebrated in events like the annual Notting Hill Carnival in west London.

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The traditional music, song, and dance of Scotland, much of it derived from the country’s Gaelic heritage, thrives in the ceilidh, the (bag)pipe band, and the Highland games. In the contemporary arts, Scotland has noted museums, galleries, and orchestras, and national ballet and opera companies. It also hosts the world’s premier arts festival, the annual Edinburgh International Festival; Britain’s second-largest arts festival, the Mayfest, is held in Glasgow. The choral and bardic traditions of Wales are seen most notably in the country’s male-voice choirs and in the eisteddfod. These annual festivals celebrating Welsh music, poetry, and customs are held throughout Wales, culminating in the Royal National Eisteddfod, which has developed into an international festival of the arts. Cardiff is home to the Welsh National Opera, one of Britain’s leading symphony orchestras, and several museums. In Northern Ireland, the ancient Celtic traditions of the whole island coexist with those of the descendants of the English and Scottish settlers. Opera Northern Ireland, the Ulster Symphony Orchestra, and the national Ulster Museum are based in Belfast.

In England, ancient folk traditions are maintained in all parts of the country. Many are unique to particular areas; some, like the morris dance, are more widespread. All English cities and many towns have art galleries and museums. Many contain notable collections.

British society is overwhelmingly urban, but it has retained distinct links with its rural past. These links are reflected in the popularity of gardening, and in the working-class tradition of growing vegetables on allotments. Sport is important in Britain, and the British originated or developed the modern forms and rules of a number of sports—notably soccer (known as football in Britain), rugby, cricket, tennis, polo, horse racing, field hockey, and croquet. Angling (fishing) is the most popular British sport or pastime, attracting more active participants than soccer.

C

Literature

By the end of the 20th century, English had become a true world language, and English literature is taught today in secondary schools and universities everywhere. Famous English poets, playwrights, and novelists are quoted, translated, and loved throughout the world. Welsh, Scottish, and Irish writers who write in English rather than in their native Celtic tongues are customarily included as contributors to English literature. For the development of literature in the British Isles, see Cornish Literature, English Literature, Gaelic Literature, Irish Literature, Scottish Literature, and Welsh Literature.

The earliest celebrated example of English literature is the bloody Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, written sometime between the 8th century and the late 10th century. After the Norman conquest in 1066, French was the language of the ruling elite, but native Britons still spoke English. The greatest English writer of the Middle Ages was Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote The Canterbury Tales in the late 14th century. This work displayed not only the vigor and vitality of the English language, but also shaped the future of the language for centuries to come.

A great flowering of English writing took place in the late 16th century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The themes of Englishness, love, violence, and the turmoil of human emotions were explored from a nonreligious standpoint. Poetry was considered the most polished form of literary expression. The Faerie Queene (Books I-III, 1590; Books IV-VI, 1596), an epic poem in six books by Edmund Spenser, is one of the masterpieces of the century. The sonnet, a poetry style that uses a formal rhyme scheme, was used by Sir Philip Sidney and William Shakespeare, who excelled at this form.

A shift to spiritual themes began in the early 17th century, as seen in the writings of John Donne, who is famous not only for his religious sermons but also for his love poetry. Donne’s complex and dramatic style made him one of the founders of metaphysical poetry. Amid the religious and civil turmoil of the English Revolution in the mid-17th century, Ben Jonson, a contemporary of Donne, wrote plays and poetry in a formal style that rejected the floweriness of 16th-century writing. This more classical style inspired a group of writers who became known as Cavalier Poets. The prose of John Milton also shared this classical style. His works, mostly pamphlets, supported the Puritan side of the revolution by stressing civil and religious liberty. Milton’s later works, the poems Paradise Lost (1667) and Paradise Regained (1671), were written in blank verse. This unrhymed poetry focused on such religious themes as the fall of Adam and human redemption. John Bunyan wrote the popular work The Pilgrim's Progress (published in two parts, 1678 and 1684), which depicts Christian salvation as a journey.

This classical writing style continued from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to the middle of the 18th century, a century often called the Age of Enlightenment. It was during this time that the modern novel emerged as a popular form of expression. The modern novel encompassed stories about people and their relation to society, whether they lived within society’s confines or not. Journalist Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe (1719) and a number of other popular adventure novels. Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift authored Gulliver's Travels (1726), a charming and biting social commentary. Bawdy and wild aspects of 18th-century life are reflected in the novel Tom Jones (1749), by writer and lawyer Henry Fielding. It was also during the 18th century that writer and literary critic Samuel Johnson compiled his Dictionary of the English Language (1755).

Toward the end of the 18th century, a reaction against reason, rationalism, and the physical world developed. This movement (romanticism) pervaded many aspects of society. The romantic movement in literature idealized nature and was characterized by a highly imaginative and subjective approach. Emotions and exotic places, both present and past, became central to countless lengthy novels and torrents of poetry. Poet William Wordsworth found his inspiration in nature, while Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Blake were inspired by mysticism. Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats wrote romantic poetry. Scottish author Sir Walter Scott, whose most famous work is Ivanhoe (1819), wrote more than 20 historical novels, many of them set in the Middle Ages.

Women also made their mark as writers during the romantic period. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is noted for the Gothic novel Frankenstein (1818), which took the romantic interest in emotions to the point of terror. Jane Austen wrote clever, elegant novels such as Sense and Sensibility (1811) and Pride and Prejudice (1813). Her down-to-earth main characters were reactions against the emotionalism of romantic writers.

During the last two-thirds of the 19th century, the Victorian era produced an amazing number of popular novelists and poets. This time period saw the rise of an increasingly urbanized, middle-class, and educated society that included a much larger reading audience. Many authors wrote about characters and situations well-known or easily comprehensible to their audience and became universally popular and in touch with their vast readership to a degree not matched in the 20th century. Perhaps the most famous author of this time was Charles Dickens, who portrayed the hardships of the working class while criticizing middle-class life. Writers prominent during the heart of the Victorian period include George Eliot, who, despite being a critic of Christianity, was known for her intense, moral novels; William Makepeace Thackeray, who wrote humorous portrayals of middle- and upper-class life; the Brontë sisters—Charlotte, Emily, and Anne—whose novels tended to be autobiographical; Anthony Trollope, a keen observer of politics and upper Victorian society; and Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote children’s books, adventure stories, and poetry. The most popular of the many Victorian poets was Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Other famous poets include Matthew Arnold, Christina Rossetti, and Robert Browning and his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

As the late Victorian era gave way to early modern times at the turn of the 20th century, the focus shifted away from stories of everyday Victorian life. The novels of Thomas Hardy, H. G. Wells, and Joseph Conrad possess a certain pessimism and uncertainty about life. In the early 20th century the dark, psychological novels of D. H. Lawrence were censored for their explicit language; his novel Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) was banned as pornographic. The poetry of T. S. Eliot, especially The Waste Land (1922), expresses disillusionment with modern civilization, as do the popular novels of Aldous Huxley, who wrote Brave New World (1932). Exotic and foreign places are the settings of works by Rudyard Kipling and E. M. Forster. Forster’s novels became popular in the 1980s and 1990s as films, including A Room with a View (1908) and A Passage to India (1924). Irish writer James Joyce and English novelist Virginia Woolf were instrumental in forging the new stream-of-consciousness writing style. The rich and memorable poetry of Dylan Thomas made him the greatest Welsh poet of the 20th century.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse wrote novels satirizing British upper-class life. In the mid-20th century the works of George Orwell, such as Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (1949), focused on his fears about society. William Golding also expressed fears about the breakdown of society in his novel Lord of the Flies (1954). Works of fantasy were written during this period in response to the horrors of World War II. J. R. R. Tolkien is famous for his fantasy novels, particularly The Hobbit (1937) and its sequel, the trilogy Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). British writers whose work won attention in the late 20th century included novelists Iris Murdoch, Muriel Spark, and Ian McEwan; poets Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney; and dramatists Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, and Michael Frayn.

D

Visual Arts

The earliest visual arts in Britain were most likely ornamentations on ordinary objects. Scandinavian wood carvings date from the 8th century, after Scandinavians came to Britain in considerable numbers. Decorative arts were particularly notable in early Christian Ireland, especially from the 6th to the 9th century. Irish missionaries, who were preaching Catholicism in Europe during this time period, brought Celtic metalworking techniques and stone carvings to Britain. Huge stone crosses, exquisitely decorated, still stand in northern Britain and Ireland. Painting was confined to illuminated manuscripts—bright and exactingly detailed miniature paintings in prayer books that were produced by monks. This art continued through the Middle Ages because books were still illustrated by hand, even after printing was invented in the mid-15th century. During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the chief patron of artists and sculptors, who were hired to decorate the massive cathedrals as well as local churches.

In early modern times portrait painting became important, particularly for monarchs interested in marriage opportunities abroad, and paintings of prospective spouses were often sent before making marital arrangements. Noted artists who produced paintings in early modern England were foreigners, such as German artist Hans Holbein the Younger in the 16th century and Flemish painter Sir Anthony van Dyck in the 17th century. English artists came to excel at miniature painting in the 17th century.

By the 18th century a distinctive British style began to emerge that tended to be brighter and livelier than the darker European canvases. British artists also stayed within the confines of neoclassical rationalism; that is, their art exhibited the values of order, logic, and proportion (see Neoclassical Art and Architecture). The etchings and paintings of William Hogarth show satirical scenes from ordinary life and were enormously popular. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, and George Romney became famous for their polished and elegant portraits. Gainsborough and others painted natural landscapes and seascapes. The artworks of Gavin Hamilton and John Flaxman depict Greek and Roman themes.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries romantic painters appeared who emphasized the beauties and forces of nature (see Romanticism). This is seen in the landscapes of John Constable and J. M. W. Turner, whose paintings directly influenced French impressionism. Noted poet William Blake was also a painter, and he illustrated his poems and stories with imaginative drawings.

Scores of artists in the Victorian era painted specifically for middle-class tastes. Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was noted for paintings that often feature animals, such as dogs or wildlife. Frederick Leighton painted mythological and historical subjects and illustrated popular magazines. William Powell Frith painted large, busy canvases in the popular style known as genre painting, which realistically depicted scenes from everyday life. Sophie Anderson painted sweet children.

In reaction to Victorian art styles and middle-class materialism, with its concern for worldly objects, several painters came together in 1848 and founded a movement called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They sought to return to an earlier, simpler time, and their works exhibited the brightness, color, and purity of medieval and Renaissance painting done before the time of Italian artist Raphael. These painters included William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and Sir John Everett Millais. This return to earlier traditions affected other aspects of the arts as well. Artist and poet William Morris sought to return to medieval traditions in craftsmanship. He is credited with founding the Arts and Crafts movement, which became influential in furniture, decorative items, and textile designs.

Toward the end of the Victorian era, art nouveau (literally, “new art”) developed out of the Arts and Crafts movement. Art nouveau is a decorative style with strong elements of fantasy. It borrowed motifs from sources as varied as Japanese prints, Gothic architecture, and the symbolic paintings of William Blake. This style, which became popular in Europe, influenced many art forms as well as architecture and interior design. The art nouveau illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley, in particular, are still popular. Artists and architects from the Glasgow School, notably Charles Rennie Mackintosh, were noted for their work in both the Arts and Crafts and art nouveau styles.

Britain has produced many artists in the 20th century. They include sculptors Jacob Epstein, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, and Anthony Caro. Painters include Paul Nash, a war artist who painted scenes of landscapes and battles during both world wars; Sir Stanley Spencer, whose works often used biblical themes; and Graham Sutherland, who developed a unique style of landscape painting. Noted painters after World War II include Francis Bacon, whose paintings are steeped in the horrific; David Hockney, who also designed opera sets; and portrait painter Lucian Freud.

E

Architecture

Some of the oldest examples of British architecture include a few small, squarish Anglo-Saxon buildings. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, Norman architecture became prevalent in the British Isles. The Normans built monumental castles and churches with enormous arches and huge columns. Their style was called Romanesque on the Continent. The greatest structures built by the Normans are the White Tower, which is part of the Tower of London, and the castle, cathedral, and monastery complex at Durham. From the 12th to the 15th century gracefully soaring spires and arches marked the development of the great Gothic cathedrals; two of these, Westminster Abbey in London and Lincoln Cathedral, still dominate the skylines of their cities. Between 1485 and 1625, the English started to incorporate some classic Roman and ornate elements of the Italian Renaissance into Tudor, Elizabethan, and Jacobean styles. During the Tudor era, brick became a popular building material for English country houses.

The architecture of the late Italian Renaissance was introduced in England by Inigo Jones in the 17th century. Jones was the first of the great British architects to be influenced by the ideas of Italian architects. Jones in turn influenced Sir Christopher Wren, Britain’s greatest architect, who studied the baroque style popular in Europe in the mid-17th century. After the devastating Great Fire of London in 1666, Wren helped in the rebuilding of the city. As the premier architect of the time, he designed 52 new churches in London. Many of his churches still stand. The grandest of them, Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, is an example of Wren’s distinctively graceful and monumental British style.

In the 18th century few English buildings followed the ornate patterns of the baroque and rococo architectures used in Europe. Rather, a more restrained, neoclassical style was introduced in Britain by Scottish architect Robert Adam. This style was based on the ancient ruins of Greece and Rome and incorporated such elements as colonnades and stone domes. English furniture and ceramics also became renowned in the 18th century. Thomas Chippendale and Thomas Sheraton were noted for their elegant furniture styles, and the ceramic designs produced by Josiah Wedgwood are still made.

Victorian architecture borrowed from a variety of styles, including classical, Gothic, and Renaissance, and was characterized by ornate decoration. The most famous Victorian neo-Gothic building is Parliament, built between 1840 and 1870. The only truly original building of the Victorian era was the Crystal Palace, which housed the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was made of metal and glass, materials architects would come to use in constructing office buildings in the 20th century.

In the early 20th century, Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh rejected elaborate Victorian architecture styles for a more modern, functional design. His work influenced 20th-century architects and interior designers. After World War II many new buildings were needed to replace the ones destroyed during the war. Because London’s subsoil is not suitable as a foundation for tall skyscrapers, many of the new buildings erected were big and boxy with geometric designs. One of the largest examples of this style is the National Theatre in London. These cold and impersonal buildings have been criticized because they clash with the graceful London architecture that survived the war. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries architects Norman Foster and Richard Rogers designed buildings in a high-tech style, with their construction and functional aspects fully exposed. The most notable building in this style is Rogers’s Lloyd’s Building in London.

F

Performing Arts