The Puritans have fallen out of fashion, seeming strange and archaic in today’s world. They were deeply religious and lived for God, with a serious and austere demeanor. During their brief reign from 1649-1660, they prohibited theater and "idolatrous" art. Today, only the occasional young poet or group of short-story writers seeking attention might want to be called a Puritan. Being labeled as such would imply that one is a censor, prude, or enemy of the arts.
We tend to forget about the Puritans, following the example of Charles II’s 1660 Act of Oblivion. However, upon closer examination of their influence on contemporary culture, we may find unexpected cause for celebration. The upcoming Sale of the Century exhibit at the Prado museum in Madrid presents an excellent opportunity to reflect on Puritan heritage. The exhibit showcases the artistic relationship between Spain and England in the 17th century, culminating in the sale of Charles I’s art collection after his execution.
With the king dead in 1649, Parliament sought to close the chapter on the civil war and liquidate the assets of the monarchy. Trustees were appointed to compile an inventory of crown goods, and Somerset House was designated to display the sale items. Though there were ideological reasons for the sale, such as purging the galleries of evidence of Catholicism, there were also practical financial motives. The Puritans recognized that artwork could generate revenue, and invited foreign purchasers to participate.
Among the buyers were Spanish King Philip IV, Cardinal Mazarin, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of the Austrian Netherlands, and wealthy German banker Everard Jabach. With assistance from his ambassador in London, King Philip IV secured some of the sale’s most prized possessions. A large portion of Charles I’s collection formed the foundation of the Prado museum, including works like Raphael’s The Virgin and St Elizabeth with Jesus and the Infant St John the Baptist, and Titian’s Emperor Charles V with a Hound.
But were the Puritans truly enemies of the arts? Although Cromwell’s government pursued a legislative program to eliminate traditional pastimes like Maying, bear-baiting, and morris dancing, as well as the stage due in part to its associations with the Stuart court, it sought the spiritual regeneration of the nation. This new cultural climate nurtured one of the most powerful myths of the Interregnum, contrasting Stuart revelry with Puritan austerity. The Commonwealth had its artistic aspirations, and although Cromwell wasn’t a patron on the same scale as Charles I, he wasn’t a frenzied iconoclast either.
Cromwell allocated himself Hampton Court, preserving it for the Commonwealth and exempting it from the sale of the king’s estate. He also intervened in the sale of the royal art collection, retaining masterpieces like Raphael’s cartoons of the Acts of the Apostles, now in the Victoria and Albert museum, and Andrea Mantegna’s nine-canvas picture cycle The Triumph of Caesar. The Protector and the King may have shared a similar taste.
They certainly agreed that works of art were necessary for political grandeur. Cromwell’s appreciation for music illustrates his regime’s contradictions. The Puritans shunned music in places of worship, removing the organ from Magdalen chapel in Oxford. However, they relocated it to Hampton Court for the Protector’s enjoyment. The Puritan era’s most significant contribution to the British arts scene came in music, with the staging of the first public operas. Regal feasts at Cromwell’s court included celebrations of the weddings of both his daughters as well as for visiting ambassadors, lauded for their splendid grandeur. At Lady Mary Cromwell’s 1657 wedding, the poet Andrew Marvell produced a pastoral entertainment in which Oliver Cromwell himself played the part of a benevolent Jove without any vocals.
Rewritten:
During the rule of Oliver Cromwell, many citizens missed the period of "traditional liberties" under the Stuarts, even if they didn’t particularly care for the executed king. However, the austere supporters of Cromwell were opposed to the reopening of theatres, leaving the Protector in a difficult position. In 1654, William Davenant, poet laureate to Charles I and purported natural son of William Shakespeare, offered a way out of this problem with a pamphlet titled A Proposition for Advancement of Moralitie.
Previously, as a playwright loyal to the Stuart war effort, Davenant had been captured by parliamentary forces and nearly executed. After his release, he found himself unable to perform plays in a country where they were forbidden. To overcome this obstacle, he proposed the birth of opera in England, a narrative told through words set to music, which he believed could be used to promote obedience to the puritan regime and nationalism.
Cromwell’s response to the pamphlet is unknown, but Davenant went ahead with his plans anyway, resulting in the first English opera, The Siege of Rhodes, being performed before a paying audience in 1656. The opera was a success, paving the way for further productions including The Siege of Rhodes, Part II, and two jingoistic dramas aligned with Cromwell’s foreign policy.
Following Cromwell’s death in 1657, the restoration of the Stuarts and the reopening of the theatre were soon to come. Davenant adapted Shakespeare’s plays as a nod to the preceding political traumas, which were incorporated into the repertoire after being rarely revived previously. Puritan attitudes toward theatre were rooted in a dislike of pretense and seductive imagery, ultimately challenging the very basis of any theatrical representation.
In the 19th century, George Bernard Shaw echoed the iconoclastic views of the 17th century Puritans when he announced his intention to cure the contemporary theatre of empty sensuousness, instead focusing on ideas and emotional truth. Therefore, the puritan legacy in theatre is most evident in theatrical radicals’ disdain for pretense and their desire to prioritize intellectual and emotional depth.
The concept of less being more has come to the forefront. The primary focus is now on the ability of language to create impactful and dramatic reactions. Puritanism placed great significance on text and the meticulous examination of biblical scriptures and God’s providence, which remains unclear since the Fall of Adam and Eve. Ultimately, the Puritans have left an enduring legacy of questioning the ambiguity of language and imagery, and the risks of interpretation. As a result, they have equipped us with a critical perspective – a discerning outlook on the arts that the French call "un certain regard." The exhibit, The Sale of the Century: The Artistic Relationship between Spain and England, 1604-1644, will be on display at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, from March 14 to June 2.
