Landscape | The Daily Norm

Aug 23

From Napoli to Capri, Part 14: A photo folio to end it all

There are many very good reasons why Capri has long been known one of Europe’s most elegant holiday destinations. Right from the time of the Emperors, when Augustus chose Capri as his favoured holiday isle, and Tiberius moved his entire court there for the final years of his tyrannical rein, through to the heady golden age of Hollywood, when the streets of Capri were peppered with flash bulbs and paparazzi encircling the magnetic draw of superstars such as Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren…Capri has long been known as the land of the rich, the famous and the altogether chic. While today’s island feels far less exclusive in the true sense of the word – after all, thousands of visitors pour onto the island every day – Capri retains its place at the pinnacle of the high-end. Dare to join them?

Around the bustling Piazzetta and down the famous Via Camerelle, there is so much posing and pouting that Dominik and I felt pressurised into changing our outfits at least 4 times as day (and even then we felt thoroughly self-conscious that passers-by might notice a Zara label rather than the obligatory D&G). And while countless visitors may pour in for the day, to stay on Capri is something of an investment. The prices are so high that one week could bankrupt even the better off. This is serious wallet-busting territory where only the mighty-rich can feel truly comfortable.

Yet beyond the pouting and the Botox, the eye-watering add-ons and the obligatory ego-mania, Capri is a place which exudes beauty. Its natural surroundings are simply stunning. There is no other way to describe them. Whether you turn to face the silhouette of Ischia to the north, the mighty Vesuvius to the East, or the Sorrento Peninsula to the south, Capri’s views are astonishing. But so too are the sights as you turn inwards, as beautiful white washed streets cling onto sloping streets, their shops polished and preened to perfection, everything boutique, floral, and highly manicured. And even those self-obsessed posers, with their haute-couture, and perfectly coiffed hair… well they are just beautiful, and a perfect addition to the scenery.

So all in all, in a post unapologetically embracing the beauty of Capri, I finish my recollections of our Naples trip with an explosion of the colour, the light, the lines and the landscapes of Capri. From the passionate, gritty streets of Naples, through to the tranquil haven of Ischia and finally onto the millionaire’s playground of Capri, it was quite a trip, one which exposed us to such a rich depth of incredible sights that I left aching from the assault upon my eyes. These places are at once historically magnificent, enshrouded in a kind of mystical enigma from the time of Odysseus, as well as utterly relevant in an age of consumption, self-obsession, and above all things, beauty. We’ve been before, and we returned in glory. It won’t be the last time.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2019. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Aug 19

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From Napoli to Capri, Part 13: Villa Jovis and the Casa Malaparte

Capri is full of the grand houses and spectacular villas of the rich and the famous, and that is nothing new. Some 2000 years ago, the earliest protagonists of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of Roman emperors were setting up resplendent palaces on the paradise Isle, from Emperor Augustus, who took frequent holidays in his Capri villa, to Emperor Tiberius who loved the place so much that he spent the last 13 years of his rule on the island, effectively moving the centre of the Roman Empire to this small but stunning Mediterranean island.

It can be said that Tiberius made as much of an impression on Capri as the island did on him. He spread himself far and wide across its rocky scenery, and the remains of many Tiberian palazzi have been found across Capri, including the ruins which were integral to the construction of Axel Munthe’s Villa San Michele. However, it is widely assumed that of all those palaces constructed for Tiberius’ pleasure on Capri, his main residence was the Villa Jovis, perched on one of the island’s highest peaks with a spectacular view over the Bay of Naples.

The Villa Jovis

The ruins of the Villa Jovis (aka Jupiter’s Villa) can still be seen today, albeit in such a poor state of repair that they resemble the kind of idyllic pastiche of antiquity which came to romanticise the ancient world in the paintings of the Renaissance and later Roccoco periods. Yet the remains are in such a spectacular location that we found our hot and sweaty up hill struggle worth all the effort, not least because next to the palace, you can wander for free around the Parco Astarita which, built into terraces on a largely steep cliff, enjoys the most incredible views of Capri’s famous coastal scenery, not to mention Vesuvius and the Sorrento peninsula beyond.

Views from the Parco Astarita

Most notable of all the sights comprising the Parco Astarita views is the Casa Malaparte. Audaciously built onto the rocky outcrop of the Punta Massullo, the Casa Malaparte is without a doubt the most famous house on Capri, not least because it featured prominently in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 film, Contempt (Le Mépris) starring one sultry Brigitte Bardot.

Globally renowned as a masterpiece of Italian modern and contemporary architecture, it was conceived in 1937 by Italian architect Adalberto Libera. The construction is audacious because it dominates the local scenery, with its reverse pyramidal staircase and freestanding curving terrace wall visible from far and wide. Yet despite this, its striking Pompeian red masonry, together with the pine trees which surround it, tend also to ingratiate the house with the local environment. The overall effect is beautiful to look at, even though the best view of this privately owned masterpiece is still, necessarily, from afar.

The Casa Malaparte

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2019. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Aug 14

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My Travel Sketchbook: View from the Hotel Gatto Bianco

I laboured long and hard over choices of where to stay in Capri. It wasn’t that the choice was overwhelming – far from it. Being small, Capri has a more limited stock of good hotels, and with even the cheapest threatening to implode the most generous of budgets, finding something of a deal was always going to be difficult. In the end, I went for the Hotel Gatto Bianco, something of an institution in Capri, which has long been a staple and celebrity haunt (aren’t they all!) thanks to its excellent position in the centre of Capri Town and, in some rooms at least, the most ravishing views over the Town and the island beyond.

We were lucky enough to enjoy one such view, and upon first encounter of our balcony, its floor delightfully tiled with multi-coloured majolica, and its railings filled to bursting with vibrant pink bougainvillea, I didn’t know where to begin in capturing it artistically. In the end, I opted to work on both views, turning inland towards the steep house-covered hillside with my sketchbook, and swiveling 180 degrees seawards for a gouache painting (yet to be revealed… coming soon!).

So here is the result. It’s a jam-packed image, and appropriately so, as Capri is something of a populated place, despite its innate exclusivity. But even despite the squeeze, given the stunning scenery and views to die for at every turn, I can well imagine that any one of the many houses captured in this sketch would be well worth the having. One day maybe…

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. For more information on the artwork of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, visit http://www.delacybrown.com

Dec 20

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Christmas in Bruges… Sunny landscapes

After a rather soggy start to our weekend sojourn in Bruges, the sun, when it came, cannot have been more welcome. As always happens when the depressing influence of cloud breaks and the atmosphere breathes a sigh of relief, Bruges opened itself up to receive the first glimmers of winter sunshine. And suddenly, before our very eyes, the city, which until now had appeared quaint, suddenly revealed the full extent of its beauty in full multi-coloured high dimensional clarity – like a bride whose blushing face is uncovered before the doting groom, the obfuscation of her lace veil being swept aside.

While Bruges exudes charm throughout its network of canals and cobbles, across its staggered rooftops and old timber town houses, it is a city which comes alive when the sun magnifies the resplendence of its colours and details. I loved the fact that on so many of the gothic spires or roof windows, a sweep of grey tiles would be broken by woodwork painted in a vivid high-gloss red; or the fact that in Bruges’ many squares and principal streets, its tightly packed buildings are each given personality through a veritable rainbow of coloured facades and golden statues.

As is the case with any city set on water, such colour and charm as resides above the waterline is swiftly replicated as the tranquil canals provide a mirrored surface hungry to reflect the panoply on tones glowing alongside it, so that in providing a double vision, the waters of Bruges complete a fully immersive picture of architectural brilliance across all visual planes. Yet in Bruges, unlike in Venice for example, its skyline is additionally punctuated by the addition of windmills and peaked rooftops, which, when seen alongside gothic spires, creates a uniquely spiked spectacle softened by a multitude of trees which must look splendid in warmer seasons.

Bruges is a place of unique and consistent beauty which is not disturbed by the touch nor inevitable destruction of modernity nor vulgarity. Yet in the sunshine it reaches an apotheosis of visual brilliance. I am so glad I was able to see it at its sunny best.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2018. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Dec 16

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Christmas in Bruges… Rainy landscapes

I always knew that I wanted to see Bruges (or Brugge) at Christmas time. Famed for its UNESCO protected idyllic old town, interlaced with canals which fill the city with all the charms of Venice mixed with a heavy dose of Medieval mysticism, there is no doubting that Belgium’s watery pearl makes for a stunning destination all year around. But with Christmas markets springing up all over town, and fairy lights strung across cobbled streets scattering their reflected golden light across the rippling canals, Bruges goes up one notch when the festive season arrives. It is a cosy Christmas card paradise, and the ultimate destination for the most magical time of the year.

Hopping across the channel by Eurostar, we found ourselves in this quaint historical city within a mere few hours from London. However the short distance meant that there was no escaping the British rain. So it was that for our first 24 hours in the city, we encountered a Bruges blanketed in cloud, but also enhanced by the rain. For as darkness descended and the Christmas lights came to life, the combination of rain and canals made for a city which dazzled in this reflected light, as every surface of its historical beauty became magnified in the light of the season.

So while sunshine was to come the very next day, this first day was characterised by the bedazzlement of Christmas… a time of year so magical and so beautiful that no matter how gloomy the weather, the stunning light of the season shines through. In this enhanced light, Bruges really shone, demonstrating to we first-time visitors why Brugge is famed throughout Europe as one of the most beautiful cities history has left us to enjoy.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2018. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Nov 2

Ode to a Tuscan Sunset

We’ve left Verona now, more’s the pity, and in my mind the single antidote is to dip into Italy once more. In London, sips of creamy limoncello and a bottle or two of Valpolicella Ripasso is partial recompense for our melancholy departure from Italian shores. Another is to look back upon photos and remember breathing deep of that ever-enchanting peninsula.

In so doing, I’ve rewound a few months, to Easter 2018 in fact, when the trees were yet to burst forth on trees ravaged by the cold “beast from the East”, and we took a trip to Tuscany. As is ever the case with a first travel in Spring, the fresh air hit us like a flurry of fresh water in an arid desert. To strip off winter layers and drink in the steady warmth of the Tuscan Spring was a encounter which was all the sweeter for its first annual embrace.

As well as the air, what struck me was the light. It had none of the harshness of the cold winter back at home. Softness pervaded the landscape, especially as the sun descended towards the end of its shorter day, and around 6pm it sunk beyond the sea line leaving the sky surrounding it to blush in rosy admiration.

The photos on this post are dedicated to that time, when rolling fields layered with olive groves and vines bathed in the first warmth of a new Spring, and exuded the golden optimism of a new season waking up to Summer.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2018. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Oct 15

Folio // Verona – The View from the Top

There’s nothing quite like the experience of viewing a city from above. In a single sweeping 360 degree motion, you can admire an entire landscape sweeping out before you, appreciating its scale and geography, but all seen from above. From the perspective reserved for those with wings, it’s possible to feel almost superhuman (and as those with vertigo will tell you, a little sick too) as you gaze down upon a city’s every day life unfolding while you, from on high, are like deity gazing down upon your subjects.

It was no surprise to us that Verona, a city so magnificent from up close, would be equally as beautiful from the top of the Torre dei Lamberti. And as the city’s tallest tower at some 272 feet high, you are guaranteed a truly commanding view if you make it to the top. From there, the city’s grey marble streets and yellow and auburn palazzos became dominated by a sea of terracotta roofs, all apart from the striking semi-circular form of the ancient arena, and the sweeping green like snake of the river, twisting its way around the peninsular of the city’s ancient heart. Best of all were the proximate views the tower afforded of the nearby Piazza delle Erbe and the stunning statuary atop the Palazzo Maffei. Who would have known, from the Piazza down below, what incredible detail lies hidden within the folds and undulations of those wonderful depictions of ancient deity.

Seen from above, Verona shared a new perspective of its indisputable beauty, reasserting why it remains the favourite city of literature lovers and true romantics everywhere, whatever the angle of their admirable glances.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2018. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Sep 12

Memories of Marrakech, in Abstract

It seems incredible that the summer is now drawing to its close. Why is it that time always goes so fast in the summer, yet the winter always seems to be an interminable torture without end? Yet the excitement with which this last summer season started infects me still, and I remember with what feverish anticipation we headed to the wild planes of Africa for the first time in our lives, to visit the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

In all the bustle of the new summer season, I barely had time to reflect upon the mesmerising pink tones of a city so unlike others I have visited previously. I created a few small art works, but soon my mind was focused towards Sicily. Amongst them, I painted this small study of the terracotta hued rooftops of Marrakech – a rather traditional work, but capturing something of the essence of that hodgepodge of a city. Yet when I looked upon the work the other day, sitting as it does on my bookshelf, I felt incomplete. This work, like the Windsor landscape and abstract coupling I have just completed, needed its abstract counterpart. And that is exactly what I set out to create.

Featuring the same very Moroccan palette of pinks, blues and earthy tones, this abstract seeks to reinterpret my earlier rooftop study, injecting a whimsicality into the composition. In reimagining this work, I was also able to layer the abstract with double meanings. The round arc of a satellite dish also resembles, for example, the crescent and star which is the design of many an Arabic flag, while another dish is placed so as to recall the dome of a mosque.

Abstraction, as a concept, intends to remove something of the figurative and pictorial, at least from its normal compositional placement, if not from the canvas altogether. What interests me about this piece is its clear abstract quality, while retaining an evident illustrative quality of both Morocco and Marrakech. For me, that makes it the perfect souvenir of that fantastically unique city.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. For more information on the artwork of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, visit http://www.delacybrown.com

Sep 5

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A Windsor Weekend, Part V: The Landscape

Ravishing greens, resplendent sweeping hedgerows, and the dappled light of richly verdant, leafy trees at the end of their mighty display of seasonal prowess…such were the impressions left upon me as we strolled from the imperial statue of George III in Windsor Great Park into the wealth of bucolic pastures beyond. However what really struck me about this particular spot were the two groups of trees which accumulated to make two perfectly oval collectives, almost like green mushrooms or large rosettes of broccoli.

Utterly mesmerised by the sight of these rounded groupings, together with the composition of fields, green strata, and an old fallen gate, I started collecting images which would later inform a quick painting of the scene. Painting en plein air this was sadly not, but I started this small landscape as soon as I got home, when the mesmeric joys of these idyllic Windsor pastures captivated me still.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. For more information on the artwork of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, visit http://www.delacybrown.com

May 6

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Norms in Tuscany

Take a ravishing view of rolling Tuscan hills, a freshly patterned blanket, the distinctively shaped Chianti bottle, a ciabatta loaf, a crostini tart, and of course some good smoked cheese and pesto, and you have just about the best picnic set up in the world (with the exception of course of Glyndebourne, but who can compete with the crème de la crème). Mix in an iconic vespa (for transportation reasons as well as Italian chic) and you’re set. Or at least the Norms are set. For while we may have left Tuscany, the Norms are continuing to chill in Italia, to revel in the seductive landscape, indulge in the region’s plentiful wine production, and live la bella vita in a way that the Tuscans do best.

Here are the Norms enjoying just that same perfect picnic we have described, with the addition of a good book (coincidentally Proust…like me!), a view of Volterra, a good snooze and even a visit from the region’s favourite mascot, the furry cinghiale. Looks pretty darn idyllic to me.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. For more information on the artwork of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, visit http://www.delacybrown.com