Westminster Bridge under Construction

Westminster Bridge under Construction
Westminster Bridge under Construction
Westminster Bridge under Construction
Tate, London 2014
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Westminster Bridge under Construction
Date
Dated 1744
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 72.5 x 146 cm
Imperial: 28 x 57 1/2 in.
Accession Number
T03665
Wilson Online Reference
P10
Description
The view is from Parliament Stairs down to the river along the Westminster side of the Thames, looking north. On the shore an elegant couple, boatmen and bathing boys from Westminster School are seen. To the left is St Stephen's Chapel, seat of the House of Commons, and behind it Westminster Hall, separated from the Thames by Cotton's and Speaker's Gardens. Westminster Bridge, still under construction, crosses the river and St Paul's Cathedral appears in the distance beyond Lambeth timber yards and barge houses on the right.
Exhibited
London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (5); London Tate Gallery, 1987-88 Manners and Morals (126)
Provenance
F.A. Durell; by descent to his great-grand-daughter, Joan Durell-Stables, Offord Hill House, Godmanchester; bequeathed 1980 to a relative, by whom sold to Spink & Son; purchased by the Tate Gallery with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund 1983
Signature/inscription
Inscribed on wall lower left: R Wilson 174[4?]
Subject
Westminster Bridge was begun in 1739 following the designs of the Swiss bridge engineer and mathematician, Charles Labelye. One of the major civic projects of the century, it was passable to pedestrians and traffic from 21 July 1746 and opened officially in 1750. From its unfinished state here, a date of May-September 1744 may be inferred for the picture. As shown, the bridge is practically complete on the Westminster side but only the abutment is ready on the Surrey bank. Over the central arch (seventh from the left) one of two proposed statues of river gods, Thames and Isis, appears, though neither was actually installed.
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Works by Other Artists
[1] Samuel Scott (c.1702-1772), The Building of Westminster Bridge, c.1742, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven and numerous other versions
[2] Antonio Canaletto (1697-1768) Westminster Bridge, with the Lord Mayor's Procession on the Thames, 1747, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
Critical commentary
When Wilson painted the picture he was still working principally as a portraitist. However, his attention to the broad sweep of scenery surrounding the bridge and sensitive rendition of light show his profound interest in landscape long before he went to Italy in 1750. The work may be seen as a typical product of the English rococo style with continental roots, combining a Venetian veduta with elegant foreground figures, in the manner of Hubert Gravelot (1699-1773). This Parisian draughtsman and engraver worked in London between 1733 and 1746 and played a major pedagogic role at the St Martin's Lane Academy, where Wilson is reported to have been in regular attendance. The long narrow shape of P10 suggests that it may have been intended originally as an overmantel, perhaps for the house of a promoter of the bridge project, such as Henry, 9th Earl of Pembroke (1693-1750). The symbolism of its layout, with the bridge reaching out between the seats of temporal and spiritual power on the left and right respectively is difficult to ignore.
Bibliography
C. Labelye, Description of Westminster Bridge, 1751; WGC, p. 180 (unpublished version of pl. 44a); R.J.B. Walker, Old Westminster Bridge, 1979, pp.151–65, 282-85; Solkin 1982, pp. 146-47; The Tate Gallery 1982-84: Catalogue of Acquisitions, pp. 83-84, repr.; P.J. Kerber, Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth-Century Europe, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2017, p. 123, fig. 125
Location featured in work
'Old' Westminster Bridge, replaced in 1862.
More Information
The building of the bridge, though much resisted by vested interests such as the City merchants and Thames watermen, greatly increased the convenience of travelling within the metropolis, especially between the north and south banks and Westminster and the City. The architect, Charles Labelye, named the 20 July 1746 as the date when the last arch was keyed, making the bridge passable for pedestrians and horses (Description of Westminster Bridge, p. 75). Evidence of the continuing function of the watermen at this date, however, is obvious from the boats plying the river. By the mid-19th century, the bridge was subsiding badly and becoming expensive to maintain. The current bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened in 1862.
Condition/Conservation
Visual examination and sampling by Ann Baxter 1982. Glue-relined, original tacking margins removed.
Kate Lowry has noted: Ground is light beige in colour and has a grainy texture. Fine dark grey-brown lines place the forms. Brownish grey dead-colouring. Main paint layers are quite thin. Ultramarine blue found in the sky.
Updated by Compiler
2021-01-21 00:00:00