Luxury in Europe 1600–1815: Negotiating Narratives 2010–15

Abstract

In December 2015 the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) opened galleries devoted to the art and design of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century continental Europe. The gallery narrative relays three key messages about the period: that, for the first time ever, in their art and design Europeans systematically explored, exploited and collected resources from Africa, Asia and the Americas; second, that France took over from Italy as the undisputed leader of fashionable art and design in Europe and finally, that ways of living came to resemble those we know today. This article explains briefly how the curatorial and learning team went about devising these narratives, against the backdrop of the practicalities that dictate a V&A vision of early modern Europe, including past and current policies determining what is available for display, how and where it is to be displayed, and what current and future visitors know and expect in terms of interpretation.