As the World Turners

J.W. T. Turner self portrait

Visiting friends in Newton, MA last summer, we went to the excellent Peabody Essex Museum to see the Turner & The Sea show (if this gets a rise from your art hackles, sorry, as the show decamped September 1.) It was a very large exhibit, described as the “first full-scale examination of (the artist’s) lifelong preoccupation with the sea,” per the museum. Here is a link to the Wall St. Journal’s review that dubbed the show “Moody Waters” and gave it high marks.

Then, when a friend told me she was seeing Mike Leigh’s newest film, Mr. Turner, at the New York Film Festival, I leaped onboard. It’s a fair amount of work to see but worth it, a half-hour too long as are so many movies, (it’s tough to kill your darlings); and highly atmospheric with incredibly detailed period observations. According to Leigh, Timothy Spall who plays Turner and several other colleagues who spoke after the screening, the project began with years of research into every nook and cranny of eighteenth and nineteenth century British habits, speech patterns, costume, housing, social issues and much more. (The costumes in the film are so well recreated you can almost smell them in their highly odiferous state.) Click here to see a cut from the film.

Among Turner’s many works that were initially reviled

Both Turner, the painter, and Leigh’s film give you a lot to chew on. If you get a chance to see Mr. Turner which looks like a shoe-in for commwill certainly be released commercially, albeit in limited release, do so. I’d love to hear your take!

Speaking of chewing, I’m passing along a recipe that’s contemporary with Joseph Mallord William (aka J.M.W.) Turner . Have no idea if pancakes were on his hit list (per the film, it doesn’t seem as though he cared much what was on the menu besides oils, watercolors, his standing in the Academy and sex)  and you might prefer to follow your own approach. Here goes:

Regency Period Pancakes
3 eggs
A little nutmeg
A little Salt
4 ½ oz of flour
A quart milk
Butter to fry
Break three eggs in a basin, beat them together with a little nutmeg and salt. (MG:I leave “a little” to your discretion but I’d think 1/4 teaspoon.)

Add in the flour and milk and mix well.

Beat into a smooth batter and then, little by little, add the rest of the milk until the mixture is the consistency of cream.

Ensure your frying pan is hot and add a knob (MG assumes this is a tablespoon with more added if necessary) of butter. Once the butter has melted pour the mixture into the pan. Fry, flipping every now and again, until they are cooked through and golden brown.
A chorus of Rule Britannia would go well with these pancakes as would maple syrup even though it’s very non-Regency. Scarf up.