Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Christopher Wren (1632-1723)
Christopher Wren—leaning on blueprints with a compass in hand—designed St. Paul's
Cathedral, a glorious demonstration of mathematics in stone.
•
In Room 11, make a U-turn left, entering Room 12, with painters, writers, actors, and
musicians of the 1700s.
Blossoming agriculture, the first factories, overseas colonization, and political stability
from German-born kings (George I, II, III) allowed the arts to flourish. Overseas, England
financed wars against Europe's No. 1 power, France.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
In London, an old form of art became something new—modern theater. Handel, a German
who wrote Italian operas in England, had several smash hits in London (especially with the
oratorio
Messiah,
on his desk), making musical theater popular with ordinary folk. Halle-
lujah.
• Walk on, to Room 13, for the portrait of...
James Watt (1736-1819)
Deep-thinking Watt pores over plans to turn brainpower into work power. His steam en-
gines (with a separate condenser to capture formerly wasted heat energy) soon powered
gleaming machines, changing the focus of England's economy from grain and ships to iron
and coal.
•
Head to Room 14, where you'll find George III over your left shoulder and George Wash-
ington along the right wall.
George III (1738-1820) and George Washington (1732-1799)
Just crowned at 23, King George III gives little hint in this portrait that he will lead
England into the drawn-out, humiliating “American War” (Revolutionary War) against a
colony demanding independence. George III, perhaps a victim of an undiagnosed disease,
closed out the stuffy “Georgian” era (in Percy Shelley's words) “an old, mad, blind, des-
pised, dying king.”
