Westminster Bridge, London, Lord Mayor's Day, 1746
Antonio Canaletto (Venice 1697 - Venice 1768)
Category
Art / Drawings and watercolours
Date
1746
Materials
Pen and brown ink and grey wash on two sheets of toned paper
Measurements
350 x 740 mm (13 3/4 x 29 1/8 in)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 730687
Caption
This work probably records the river procession which took place on 29th October 1746, during Sir Richard Hoare's last term in office as Lord Mayor of the City of London. Canaletto produced a much larger painting in oil of this event which informed a print by Richard Parr (see NT1149498). This smaller sepia drawing with watercolour presents a view from the North, looking up the Thames towards numerous regatta craft and state barges which jostle for space on the water around Westminster Bridge. On the right, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Hall and St John's Smith Square can be seen. Lambeth Palace appears on the opposite bank.
Summary
Pen and brown ink and grey wash on toned paper (two sheets), Westminster Bridge, London, Lord Mayor's Day, 1746 by Antonio Canaletto (Venice 1697 – Venice 1768), 1746.
Provenance
Produced during the last term of office as Lord Mayor of Sir Richard Hoare (1735-1787) and probably acquired by Hoare around 1746; first recorded at Stourhead in 1822; thence by descent; given to the National Trust along with the house, its grounds, and the rest of the contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947) in 1946
Credit line
Standen, The Beale Collection (National Trust) Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Antonio Canaletto (Venice 1697 - Venice 1768) , artist
References
Watson 1950 Francis Watson "Some Unpublished Canaletto Drawings of London" Burlington Magazine XCII 1950 pp 315-316 fig.16 Constable 1962 W. G. Constable, Giovanni Antonio Canal, Canaletto, OUP, 1962, no.749b