Gardens Galore In Painting Paradise At The Queen's Gallery

Tabish Khan
By Tabish Khan Last edited 115 months ago

Last Updated 22 March 2015

Gardens Galore In Painting Paradise At The Queen's Gallery ★★★☆☆ 3
Animals take centre stage in this version of the Garden of Eden by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Copyright Royal Collection.
Animals take centre stage in this version of the Garden of Eden by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Copyright Royal Collection.
This image is supplied for single use only and should not be archived or passed on to third parties.
Flowers feature strongly in this exhibition, including this sunflower clock. Copyright Royal Collection.
This pleasure garden with a maze is filled with people feasting and frolicking. Copyright Royal Collection.
This pleasure garden with a maze is filled with people feasting and frolicking. Copyright Royal Collection.
Flowers were often used as accessories and this headdress, brooches and earrings belonged to Queen Victoria. Copyright Royal Collection.
Flowers were often used as accessories and this headdress, brooches and earrings belonged to Queen Victoria. Copyright Royal Collection.
This aerial view of Hampton Court Palace includes both the river and the famous maze. Copyright Royal Collection.
This aerial view of Hampton Court Palace includes both the river and the famous maze. Copyright Royal Collection.
This image is supplied for single use only and should not be archived or passed on to third parties.
Henry VIII and family pose for this group portrait. Copyright Royal Collection.

Londonist Rating: ★★★☆☆

Gardens have played a part in art over many centuries, from religious works featuring the garden of Eden to more recent portrayals of famous London gardens at Kew and Hampton Court Palace. This exhibition charts how the garden has been celebrated in art through paintings, books, manuscripts and other artefacts.

There are star names on display including drawings of plants by Leonardo da Vinci and a Rembrandt with Christ as a gardener, however our favourite work is the Garden of Eden by Jan Brueghel, where Adam and Eve are in the background and it's the multitude of animals which take centre stage.

This exhibition is filled with massive landscape paintings such as a sweeping Dutch garden and the grounds of Hampton Court Palace seen from an aerial perspective. Thomas Gainsborough has painted multiple characters in St. James's Park as 'polite company' is seen in the same scene with soldiers and prostitutes.

There's no doubt that much of the work is opulent and may be a bit too much for some visitors, but we love how the gallery has embraced this aspect and included flowers outside the entrance and a pergola within the exhibition. The works can be of mixed quality but this is an aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable show.

Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden is on at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace until 11 October. Tickets are £10 for adults, concessions available.

For more art to see in London, visit our 10 most talked about and top 10 openings for March.

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