Wholly glory Raghav Handa and James Peter Brown

Wholly glory by choreographer and dancer Raghav Handa and composer James Peter Brown responds to Vive l’Empereur! 1891 by Édouard Detaille – a monumental painting on display in the Art Gallery’s Grand Courts that captures the splendour of Napoleon’s cavalry.

Drawing on visual research, historical documentation and the dressage ring, Wholly glory interrogates the cost of allegiance, the construct of heroism and the mechanisms by which power is remembered and romanticised. The work, which is still in development, engages these themes by examining the bond that exists between a lancer and his charger – their trust and comradery, life and death relationship, their beauty.

This presentation concludes Raghav Handa’s 2025 artist residency at the Art Gallery, designed to support choreographic research of the collection. Stay for a Q&A with the artists after the performance.

Free, bookings required