I've been looking at views of the Thames by different artists this week and came across one which was attributed to
John Constable but which just looked wrong to me. I first found it
on wikipaintings - and then noticed that they'd sourced it from one of those
"we can paint you any painting you want" sites.
Finally, it dawned on me why it was wrong - the image had been reversed! Maybe you have to have walked along this terrace to know these things?
So here is a small Constable oil sketch of Somerset House Terrace from Waterloo Bridge - the proper way round! The real thing forms part of the Paul Mellon Collection in the
Yale Center for British Art At Yale University in downtown New Haven.
What's also interesting about this painting is:
- it's definitely a sketch/study - given the size and the quality of the finish. Constable simply did not paint like this for his studio paintings but he did when painting studies for studio paintings. It would be interesting to know whether he did anything with it.
- the sketch dates from before the Embankment was built along the edge of the Thames. In those days Somerset House was on the banks of the Thames and didn't have a couple of roads and pavements and a wall between the terrace and the river.
The other names for this painting are:
- Somerset House Terrace and the Thames: a View from the North end of Waterloo Bridge with St. Paul's and Blackfriar's Bridge
- Somerset House, A View from Waterloo Bridge looking towards St. Paul's and the City
Whatever it's called it suggests that a good place to paint the Thames and the City of London is the north end of Waterloo Bridge.
The end of the terrace at Somerset House is not such a good spot for painting - you can see how much trees now interfere with the view in my post
Sunday Papers at Somerset House on my
Travels with a Sketchbook blog
