Capri, Seascape 

James Charles painted this unnamed seascape, of Capri, at an unknown date with oil on canvas. Charles, who was raised in Victorian England, would have been taught to paint landscapes to evoke very particular feelings, to act almost as a mirror for the soul. Here the water is not just water, but an evocation of the sublime and the awe-inspiring. The painting's muted colors seem to whisper rather than shout, inviting a sense of introspective calm. The rough brushstrokes capture the energy of the waves crashing against the rocks. In this work, Charles seems to gently push against the established notions of British landscape painting, which had long held the pastoral and picturesque as ideals. Instead, he captures the raw, untamed beauty of the Mediterranean coast. It's as if Charles is asking us to consider the relationship between human emotion, the natural world, and the creative process.