Postcards from England 🖼🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿💂

Postcards from England

London is the place where I live because I felt an irresistible attraction to the city in my 30s and decided this was the place I wanted to develop my career and live my life. More than 20 years after, I am still in love with the place and feel amazed by the opportunities the metropolis can offer, whether one decides to take them on or not. Surely London is the European capital I feel most comfortable in, even in spite of all the Brexit nonsense and the challenges to its very multicultural make up. Sometimes I do venture also outside London and explore the coastline seeking a refreshed connection with the ocean.

The Royal Pavilion is an iconic presence just in the centre of old Brighton to witness the attraction of the city as a holiday destination for Londoners since the end of the 18th century. Since then, its closeness to the capital has made of this seaside resort a vibrant and unique town with its own identity despite the influx of tourists and Londoners seeking refuge from the intense rhythm of the metropolis. Other towns along the Sussex coast have seen similar tourist developments although on much smaller scale.

Margate has been for years a favourite destination for holiday-makers coming from the capital to enjoy the sandy beaches and the marine views. Notoriously the painter JMW Turner spent quite some time in this seaside town, attracted by the clear skies, the “loveliest in all Europe”, and the scenic open seascapes, featured in many of his paintings. To this day the town remains a point of reference for tourists and visitors enjoying a day out on the beach and around the town.

This painting is part of a series of late unfinished artworks that JMW Turner kept in his studio and were bequeathed to the nation upon his death. The subject of this ruined castle in the North of England had been part of a fascination by the painter since his first visits to the region. In this representation he seems to be much more interested in creating an atmosphere, at a specific time of the day, rather than any specific detail of the subject and the surrounding landscape.

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