We hiked the far side of Ullswater from Patterdale and Glenridding. There’s a famous painting by JMW Turner of this view in 1797 (now in the Tate Gallery). It’s instructive to compare the artist’s view and choices compared with the natural landscape. My first picture shows my personal view of Ullswater with Patterdale Old Hall, two hundred years later.
However forcing a picture of a particular view doesn’t always work: Patterdale Old Hall is now unimportant whereas nearby Glenridding is a bustling village which gained unwanted attention due to the flooding following Storm Desmond in December 2015. So I prefer the view framed through the trees and the stone wall, the superficial summer time peace concealing the recent devastation and distress.
But then the publishers of postcards and calendars often feature the open view with the skyline of the Helvellyn range reflected on the surface of Ullswater.
Interesting also having visited Petworth Park just a week ago, the stately home of one of the artist’s major admirers: Nature or Nurture?