Londons Guildhall Art Gallery has just carried out a radical rehang of its Victorian collection. Its principal curator Julia Dudkiewicz explains why it reveals some striking connections between past and present

HOW is historic art of relevance to lives in the 21st century? What do Victorian pictures have to offer on contemporary social, economic and even existential issues?

When I was given the chance to rehang the Guildhall Art Gallery in the heart of the City of London, it became clear we would have to tackle these questions.

Art on the walls in the Square Mile in the public Guildhall complex needs to stand up to tough scrutiny but, more than that, it also needs to help open peoples minds as well as providing aesthetic satisfaction and historical authenticity.

Our collections centrepieces are the late Victorians and the amazing works we have in the Guildhall Art Gallery demonstrate in vibrant and exciting detail how the fine arts fundamentally changed in the 19th century.

Our modern forebears the Victorians were, like us, living through technological and social upheaval and artists turned to the reality of modern life as a main inspiration, departing from the long-standing tradition of representing scenes from history, mythology and the Bible.

So when we set about the first rehang since the gallery opened in 1999 we focused on everyday subjects such as work, leisure, love and the home, as well as beauty and image, faith and imagination.

Using these themes we aim to actively engage 21st-century visitors and challenge preconceptions about Victorian art being dated. To do so we changed 70 per cent of the roster of paintings, bringing many out of store.

The canvases highlight phenomena that form an integral part of life today, which many would not think originated in Victorian times. Examples are the concept of leisure and outdoor recreation, compulsory education, affordable fashion and home decoration or the advent of office work and clerical professions.

The Victorian period was dominated by the previous industrial revolution which started in Britain around 1760 and continued until the 1840s, making it then the strongest economy in the world. This particular revolution marked the transition to new and more efficient manufacturing processes from manual labour to machine production relying on water and steam power.

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Morning Star :: Victorian values return