GABRIEL J. LEWIS.

The Rediscovery of Landscape Painting.

2026 - London, UK.

As a British artist who works mainly on portraits and history paintings, Gabriel J. Lewis decided to settle in Palmerino for a few weeks to work on landscape painting.

Having studied at the Charles H. Cecil Studios, which holds its annual summer exhibition at Il Palmerino, Gabriel has always been drawn to the beauty of the house and its gardens. Furthermore, as he draws inspiration from the great Italian masters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, among others, Palmerino was the perfect place to reconnect with landscape painting. 

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When he paints, he draws inspiration from nature and tries to reproduce what he sees, an idea that Hogarth describes perfectly in his “Analysis of Beauty”. As he puts it so well: “My style or manner is the consequence of my errors.”

Naturally, painting landscapes requires a very different approach to that used for portraits or historical works, which he is accustomed to. That is why, during his stay in Palmerino, Gabriel was able to hone his ability to capture the genral impression of Tuscan landscapes through watercolour and oil painting, whilst drawing inspiration from his favourite artists in the field: Turner, Claude, Rosa and Ruisdael. One thing he learnt was that painting landscapes is far more difficult than he remembered, and he returned to England filled with respect for these painters.

His desire to escape a hectic routine and finally take the time to focus on painting outside was also one of the reasons for choosing Il Palmerino, away from the bustling crowds of tourists in Florence.

“The beautiful and peaceful garden at Il Palmerino and the surrounding countryside will probably show itself in the backgrounds of future portraits and compositions for a while

to come.”