by axxxm
24/September/2025 in Kraków
A week ago I visited London
London is where I used to live, but
this was the first time I truly felt how rich British culture is
Admittedly I'd never had any particular interest in their culture
until this time
"Portrait of Anne Wortley, Later Lady Morton (made in 1620)"
This 400-year-old painting was the one that
opened my eyes to the richness of British culture
Three points;
1 — Fashion
2 — Technique
3 — Condition
1 — Fashion
400 years ago in Japan
It was when
Edo period started
& Tokyo had became the country's central city
And this gorgeous clothing, like the woman is wearing in the painting, would've never existed
But in Britain, it did
2 — Technique
The description said "Oil paint on canvas"
I didn't know oil paintings had already existed 400 years ago
What's more,
the technique had already reached such a level of sophistication in Britain that
it enabled them to create this detailed & realistic painting
3 — Condition
Despite 400 years old,
the painting looked new
No cracks on the surface
No fading on the colours
.........I walked closer, very closer, to the painting
And noticed there was no glass in the frame
This 400-year-old painting is displayed without protection
to the public (and for free!)
*Museums are all free in the UK
This was exactly when I felt like
I had glimpsed some kind of "confidence" and "pride", or even "arrogance", that British people must have in their own culture
If it was Japan,
and a painting from 400 years ago were found,
then
people would get so excited or so anxious about its "cultural value", and
highly likely they hide it somewhere with the excuse of "Protecting cultural heritage", and
they never allow the general public to access to the work
But in the UK,
they put it like this without any protection
So nonchalant, as if
"Well, we have an abundance of such things. This is just one of many"
"If something unfortunate happens to this painting, then we'll just replace it with another. That's all"
What arrogance!
What nonchalance!
But through it,
I could see how rich.........in both quality & quantity.........British culture must be