
It’s been a goodly while since my last visit to
Dulwich Picture Gallery, and what I hadn’t realised is that finding myself back in that place, among such familiar paintings, would be like a reunion with old friends. In my excitement over more contemporary art and illustration, I’d let myself forget what an incredible array of paintings lives within the cosy walls of DPG. It was a unique tour of nostalgia, from the earthiness of
Murillo’s peasant paintings (see
Two Peasant Boys and a Negro Boy, above), and the elegance of the
Gainsborough’s
Linley Sisters, to
Rembrandt’s
Girl at the Window and the drama of
Boats in a Storm by
Backhuysen, evoking memories of thrilled classes of 7 year olds creating the sound effects for the painting … the swish and the swoosh of wind and spray, the cries of ‘help’ and the heaving and hoeing of ropes and sails.