Anna Maria di Brina hops on her bike and cycles the path trodden by Camille Pissarro in his Dulwich and Crystal Palace paintings.
A weird coincidence
It was a matter of absolute coincidence that in the same week I became aware of, via Anna Sayburn’s Dulwich Through Painterly Eyes article on this blog, the fact that Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro once lived in South London, I happened to cross the threshold of the first room of the Courtauld Gallery.
The painting was there, hanging on the wall, on the left side, staring at me as to say: “Yes, I’m here, have you come for me?”.
No, I didn’t remember at all that the “Lordship Lane Station”, painted by Pissarro during his first stay in London in 1870-71, was kept in this Gallery and is nearly the first to be found on display. It is a quiet and neat image of a steam-train, passing through the newly built suburban hillside village on the old Crystal Palace high level railway line. Click on the link to view Lordship Lane Station.
The thought that such a painter could have been nosing and strolling around in the same streets in which I’m spending my days is amazing. After this meet up, the image of the bearded Camille, wearing his characteristic hat and making his way in the Dulwich area started to roam over my mind. Where had he lived? What did he paint? Has his suburban South London changed from what we’re experiencing?
77a Westow Hill
The first thing I discovered, after a bit of wandering around and on the net, is that of course I’m not the first person interested in the answers. Nicholas Reed’s book “Pissarro in London” and what’s more his Camille Pissarro in Crystal Palace tries to delineate a detailed picture of the issue.
Pissarro arrived in London escaping from the Franco-Prussian war. He settled with his family in the suburbs of Norwood and Crystal Palace, precisely in 77a Westow Hill, where a blue plaque marks the spot.
He loved London very much. He was interested in capturing with his brushes all the different effects the weather brought to the landscape throughout the year. The interesting aspect from Reed’s books is that, apart from Lordship Lane Station which no longer exists, most of Pissarro’s views feature places and roads that we can easily recognize on our own path!
So, on a sunny morning of this chilly Autumn I decided to get on my bicycle and to follow Pissarro on his way through this ever charming area. My guide, four of his views!
See Part 2 next week for a description of my Pissarro tour of Dulwich and Crystal Palace.
