Historical Reflection: De-masquing the Banqueting House (London)
The Banqueting House lying within the midst of the old English palace of Whitehall was an obsessively extravagant Classical and Baroque styled fragment of divine architecture. The flamboyant hall, designed by masque and architectural builder Inigo Jones, once held the masqued balls for the Stuart kings James I and Charles I. It was underneath Rueben's gloriously painted ceiling, which embodied depictions of the divine rights of kings, the union of England and Scotland, and the depiction of the benefits of a wise government that the Stuart kings partook in grand feasts, and excessive splendor. The ceiling portraying both King James and King Charles, showed the imperial crown of the kings, and even placed them on top of imperial globes in order to stress the monarchy’s superior power over all other men on earth. Rubens paintings of angels, and Roman/Greek gods bestowing the English king with gifts of wisdom, justice, peace, and abundance highlighted the king's wish to be see as almost heavenly, and being chosen by God, where only God could judge him. These paintings only highlighted the masque the monarchy had portrayed to parliament and to all citizens. Their masqued balls were not the only masques being displayed. Instead, the monarchy was masquing their weak rule through the glamours of their golden, flamboyant architecture, their excessively extravagant feasts, and their worldly fashion, all of which were apart of the great Banqueting House. These elaborate displays were propaganda and used to deceive the English citizens, and foreigners of king's amount and source of power. His painting which glorified his supreme being of wisdom and justice were mere facades. Instead, Charles I ushered the country into a state of Civil War. The splendor enriched in the Banquette House had once represented Charles as the closest being on earth to God, and the Civil War questioned his authority with newly established Puritan, Anglican, Presbyterian beliefs. The painting of gods and cherubims
anointing him with crowns and gifts, had been a mere promotion of false representation which were suppressed after Parliaments rally against him. Overall the propaganda used to masque Charles’ quivering Christian beliefs and inability to rule over the many forms of Protestantism as well as Catholics resulted in both religious and political divides. The people saw through his masques of divine right, and with Oliver Cromwell leading the English people and the New Model Army against Charles, they demasked him for the tyrant and ruthless spender of extravagance whom he was. Which is why it is only fitting that onlookers then and even to this day, now enter the Banqueting House under the unmasqued head of Charles the first. With the depiction of his pure black bust, the reign as a dark time for the subjects of England is depicted. All-in-all the Banqueting House, a symbol of masqued glory, has finally been revealed for what it truly was: a place for kings to hide behind in order to neglect and falsely rule the kingdom of England.