ANDRÉ DERAIN Charing Cross Bridge, London 1906 (oil on canvas 80 x 100 cm) (Image: Museo Picasso)
The River Thames in London has featured extensively in my art over the years. The ease of access along much of it’s route, the dozens of interesting viewpoints, an ever changing architectural backdrop that sits inside a familiar place, make it a natural choice to set up an easel, or sit and paint with a sketchpad. I also feel that I take my cue from the many great artists of the past who have painted and sketched the river’s dynamic scenery in original and compelling ways and captured a London of a bygone era that was contemporary to them.
André Derain (1874-1954), was a French painter who was a key figure in the Fauve movement at the turn of the 20th century. He worked directly from life yet used vibrant, exaggerated and pure colours to render landscapes. His paintings of the Thames are great examples of this approach, one such example is Charing Cross Bridge, London (the viewpoint is still instantly recognisable today). The confidence in rendering a tonally correct scene using vibrant colours is masterfully done and, coupled with the mark making, gives the scene a continental feel. The location, part of today’s Southbank, still features the low tide bank which now has a scruffy beach and a pleasure cruise jetty. Brunel’s Hungerford crossing in the middle ground, originally built in 1845 as a suspension bridge and later reconstructed in 1864 as a rail crossing, is still in situ, now with the Golden Jubilee pedestrian walkways which were added in 2002.
JAMES ABBOTT MCNEILL WHISTLER: Pink and Silver - Chelsea, The Embankment 1885 watercolour (image: artfund.org)
American artist James Whistler (1834-1903) spent much of his early painting career in London and produced paintings depicting the river Thames and contemporary London life, many in and around near Chelsea where he lived such as Pink and Silver - Chelsea, The Embankment, a watercolour sketch that still looks almost exactly the same today (minus smart gentlemen’s hats.)
His most famous work includes a series of brooding plein air nocturne paintings, which might not look out of place in a Charles Dickens novel. Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Battersea Bridge, depicts the original wooden and rather gangly, rickety looking Battersea Bridge, it’s effect heightened possibly by low tide (the river has a pronounced tidal range at that location.)
CLAUDE MONET: Waterloo Bridge 1903 oil on canvas (Image: claude-monet.com)
No blog article about Thames artists would be complete without mentioning French impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) and his prolific output of paintings that he made of the river. The output was in part due to his specialist method of painting a series of pictures in parallel. He had several paintings on the go, often timed to the minute, to capture specific times of day and in varying weather conditions. Many of the paintings of the Thames were made from a viewing point at the Savoy Hotel.
We live in a de-industrialised London, so the thought of a dirty smog filled city doesn’t sound particularly visually appealing but for Monet it was a Godsend and an inspiration. If not for the fog, Claude Monet once remarked: "London wouldn't be a beautiful city. It's the fog that gives it its magnificent breadth."
His paintings shimmer and move as if one is viewing the scene under water. It’s interesting to note that Monet painted this series around the same time that Derain was making his river views nearby.
Rivers symbolise journeys and the motion of time. It is incredible to imagine the number of people who have passed along the Thames, its crossings and it’s bank side pathways throughout the ages. Paintings reflect these journeys and it’s fascinating to examine paintings of the dame locations which were made decades and centuries ago.
Venetian artist Canaletto (1697-1768) painted many grand and palatial cityscapes of European cities including London. His panoramic views had big atmospheric skies and fine archictectual rendering, and the streets and waterways teemed with life. These elements give a great insight into an 18th century London, which often included St Paul’s Cathedral as a focal point. In the painting The River Thames looking towards Westminster from Lambeth we see the old Westminster Bridge gleaming white with Westminster Abbey on the left and, in the distance, St Paul’s. Lambeth Palace is in the foreground on the right. All three of these monuments stand today though the bridge was replaced in 1862. In the distance to the left one can make out the North London heights.
GIOVANNI ANTONIO CANAL (CANALETTO): The River Thames looking towards Westminster from Lambeth 1747 oil (Image: Wiki)
The River Thames has been modified greatly over the years. Bridges built and replaced, reflecting the many technological, industrial, economic, commercial and social changes over time. The river itself has been modified in various ways, whilst concrete and glass architecture of the 20th century and beyond has redefined and (often) stifled many of the views. Today’s skyscrapers are a nod to an ever innovative and technologically integrated city but also an seemingly increasing nationless and anywhere existence. Monet, Whistler, Derain and Canaletto also witnessed and recorded immense changes but they captured London as a real place. The River Thames provided them with a special inspiration.