Kent's many splendoured things

摘要

In the same room in which David Bowie's career was celebrated last year, the V&A is now staging the first ever major show on the work of another icon of British style, William Kent. Subtitled 'Designing Georgian Britain', the show tackles the major themes of Kent's life - which include the shifting political landscape, the role of patronage in design, and the shared language of the visual arts. The bandwagon of early 18th century British taste, highly decorated and extravagantly gilded, was designed by Kent and ridden by him to maximum effect. His career was extraordinarily varied, leaving the impression that he must have been supremely versatile as a designer, and deftly opportunistic. To modern eyes he might look at times to have spread himself too thin, a jack of all trades but master of none, but this show proves otherwise.