An etcher in the wake of Whistler: Robert Goff by Melanie Brown

Hotel Metropole, Brighton. Dry point etching by Robert Charles Goff, c1908. Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

The subtly muted papery light emitting from Robert Goff’s most recent exhibition ‘An etcher in the wake of Whistler’ might not immediately draw one into visiting this room in the Brighton Museum.

But  to overlook this small and well formed exhibition would be a shame, for Goff’s paintings, sketches and etchings deserve closer inspection. His work demonstrates an almost OCD level of craftsmanship. This is particularly true of his etchings which were described by his contemporaries as following in the footsteps of Whistler, hence the exhibitions title.

Robert Charles Goff (1837-1922) was clearly a lover of travel and the ‘great outdoors’  judging by the fact his images depict sea, land and cityscapes from Egypt, Japan, Italy through to the UK.  Out of the 59 images displayed, only 13 do not have some inclusion of water – even those in London include the Thames. Given that Goff spent 33 years living in Hove this love of the water side shouldn’t perhaps be too surprising.

Brighton Sands by Robert Charles Goff, c1897 Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

Goff has lent away from producing the more stereotypical sunny day ‘postcard’ scenes, instead he has seemingly chosen to depict days when inclement weather prevailed. His evocative illustration of the weather adds a heightened sense of the dramatic and atmospheric giving a real sense of what it might have felt like on the skin to be standing there in one of his scenes. He builds this sense through clever technical use of shading as well as attention to capturing the moving elements of weather.

In perhaps his moodiest etching on display, the Windswept coast Viareggio, Tuscany (c1905), the sense of the changing weather is palpable through the dark land but lighter sky. Trees are depicted bending in the wind as clouds race across the sky and a lone figure braces against the elements.

Another dramatically moody and historically interesting scene is Destruction of the Old Chain Pier, Brighton (1896), which captures the destruction of Brighton’s chain pier. At a glance the remaining bit of the pier looks like a sea monster rearing out of the breakers lurching towards an audience of onlookers. Only on closer inspection does the chain and structural element become apparent. Like the onlookers depicted here on Brighton promenade watching this scene, you feel as a viewer that you are witnessing a historical event.

West Pier by Robert Charles Goff, c1900 Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

A talented sketcher bearing witness to the life and natural scenes around him is perhaps the strongest unifying feeling coming from this exhibition. Goff doesn’t seek to depict scenes that raise many questions in his audience nor does there feel to be much of a subtext in his pictures. Instead they are honest and beautifully detailed and crafted images.

One gets the sense of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes on a windy day in the early 1900’s on a coast somewhere in the world.

This free exhibition is on display at the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery until the 29^th of April.

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery

Royal Pavilion Gardens

Brighton

East Sussex

BN1 1EE

United Kingdom

Telephone 03000 290900