Light Perceptions have been appointed as lighting consultants as part of the re-presentation of the interior of The Whitehall Banqueting House during the forthcoming refurbishment works which will involve scaffolding the exterior thereby eliminating all of the daylight. Light Perceptions will be relighting the undercroft, entrance and stair areas as well as reviewing the lighting of the Rubens Ceiling.
The significance of the Banqueting House ceiling can hardly be over-stated. It was the crowning glory of Inigo Jones’s building and the canvasses, installed by March 1636, confirmed the Banqueting House at the forefront of princely taste. The ceiling canvasses were painted by the famous 17th-century Flemish artist, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and represent the only scheme painted by him to remain in its original position.
They were commissioned by Charles I, probably in 1629-30 when Rubens visited him in England.