"Le Beguinage and Sir Winston Churchill" Top 5 Page for this destination Brugge Travelogue by bpacker

Do you know that this painting that you're looking at (Le Beguinage, 1946 ) was painted by Sir Winston Churchill ? Yes, it was . I suppose you are surprised but then again not many people knew that the famous stateman was also a painter and an artist.

Churchill , doing what he loved

For more than forty years, Churchill painted on the quiet, admist the changing world events. There was no doubt that the hobby gave him the much needed respite from his actual work. Churchill carried on painting until the final years of his life but this aspect of his life remained relatively unknown as all his artwork were painted under a pseudonym. Gradually, people realized that he was a prolific and talented painter after he published his 1921essay in 1948, "Painting As a Pastime" in book form.

Entrance, Beguinage

Churchill painted many scenes from Europe but Le Beguinage remains my favourite. Now having seen the Beguinage, I can perhaps understand why the painting came about.

Beguinage, Belgium, Sepia

Little remains changed in the Beguinage, up till this day.It is as serene as how Churchill depicted in his painting...

In fron the church, Beguinage

...complete with Benedictine nuns gliding enigmatically among the tall trees.

..wearing their traditional white wimples and black robes. A simple garment that has remained unchanged even before Churchill's time, in the 15th century.

beguinage, Bruges

All too soon they have walked by and the beguinage is empty again, almost noiseless save for the soft swishing of leaves...