Canaletto, 1697–1768, Venetian, active in Britain (1746–55)
Title:
Westminster from Near the Terrace of Somerset House
Date:
ca. 1750
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
15 1/4 x 28 1/4 inches (38.7 x 71.8 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1976.7.97
Gallery Label:
This view, upstream toward Westminster, is the pendant to Canaletto’s view in the opposite direction, downstream toward the city of London (hanging to your left). In the eighteenth century, Somerset House, formerly the official residence of dowager queens, was mostly used to accommodate foreign ambassadors. Notable landmarks on the horizon include the following (right to left): Inigo Jones’s Banqueting House; Westminster Abbey with Hawksmoor’s completed towers; the roof of Westminster Hall; the two towers of St. Stephen’s Chapel and the four towers of the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Smith Square; and, finally, Westminster Bridge. The Ironmongers’ Barge is represented twice here. The Water Works at York Buildings are partially obscured by trees in the foreground. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016