If you're taking a turn about the Pavilion Gardens this spring, I would highly recommend popping in to Brighton Museum and Galleryâs latest exhibition to see what Brighton promenade looked like over 100 years ago.
Robert Goff: An Etcher in the Wake of Whistler is a collection of etchings from the late 19th century by Hove-based artist Robert Charles Goff, and ex-army colonel with no professional artistic training.
Waterways are a key focus in Goffâs etchings, 50 of which are on display until April 29th.
Brighton seafront features in the art on display, and the similarities between todayâs promenade and its Victorian counterpart are extraordinary, and fun to spot.
Brightonians will recognise the towering wall in 'Madeira Walk' and an etching of West Pier in its prime incites smiles amongst those who never got to see the icon in action before its closure in 1975.
My favourite image of the exhibition was 'Hotel Metropole Brighton', which shows Victorian ladies strolling along my favourite stretch of seafront, gas-lit lampposts lighting the scene.
Whilst the Brighton etchings may be of the most interest to local visitors, Goffâs etchings of the English countryside and waterways around the world are just as fascinating.
âRialtoâ is bound to resonate with anyone who has been to Venice.
The Rialto bridge stands proud, the canals are central to the everyday hustle and bustle captured in the etching, and all surrounded by architecture still recognisable in The Floating City.
One of my classmates described the etchings as a form of Victorian photography, and I'd agree.
They're a chance to see the Thames at the centre of a newly-industrialised London, and compare smoking factory backdrops with Brighton's seafront images, which present the southern city as a pleasure town.
I think my interest in the etchings came from my passion for social history, rather than any artistic inclination, which is why I'm recommending this exhibition really. It's accessible and interesting.
Goffâs work, inspired by Victorian etcher J.A.M Whistler, has not been displayed since the 1920s, and is certainly well worth a quick look, especially as entry is free.
