Charles I: King and Collector
Portrait of Charles I by Van Dyck at the Royal Academy, London exhibition
This major new exhibition, Charles I: King and Collector, opens at the end of this month at the RA, London and has brought together since the 17th century the art collection of the king.
Titian, Mantegna and Holbein were among the artists that Charles collected and he also commissioned works by contemporary artists of the day - Van Dyck and Rubens.
Following his execution, the collection was sold off and scattered across Europe. Some are to be found in the Louvre and Prado museums.
The collection had a radical impact at the time and fostered a vibrant visual culture that was unknown in England.
The exhibition is organised in partnership with Royal Collection Trust and promises to be dazzling in breadth, including over 100 works of art including sculptures, paintings, miniatures and tapestries.
The exhibition is showing in the RA's 250th celebratory year. Building has been taking place to create new architecture galleries, learning and event spaces. The architect David Chipperfield has been in charge of these dynamic changes and has created a new entrance leading to New Bond Street. The work of the RA school will be integrated and the famous casts from which students over the years have drawn will be able to be seen.
Charles Saumarez Smith, Chief Executive of the RA, will be speaking at our seventh forum 'Art Investment and Cities' at RIBA, London on 25th January 2018.