The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, Seen from Whitehall Stairs, London, 18 June 1817 by John Constable

The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, Seen from Whitehall Stairs, London, 18 June 1817 - John Constable - Hand Painted Oil Painting

At a Glance

Nothing softens a bedroom like a painted surface. The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, Seen from Whitehall Stairs, London, 18 June 1817 by John Constable arrives as a hand painted oil painting on canvas, offering the cityscape detail, soft gradients, and tactile finish that cityscape oil painting shoppers look for.

About the Artwork

This recently rediscovered sketch is an important, previously lost, early study for one of John Constable’s most celebrated paintings, The Opening of Waterloo Bridge (Tate Gallery, London, fig. 1), which the artist exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1832. Probably the artist’s first attempt at working out the composition, it is believed to be the picture Constable showed to Joseph Farington in 1819, an event recorded in the latter’s diary for 11 August that year but which hitherto no previously known sketch has been traced. Recent scientific analysis has shown that the handling and technique are typical of Constables practice circa 1819–20, whilst the elevated perspective correspond with the ‘bird’s eye view’ that Farington describes. Previously unknown to scholars, the sketch has a distinguished provenance, having belonged to the great French collector Camille Groult, who established the most significant collection of British art in France in the nineteenth century.

The view is taken from the south-west, looking north-east towards the City, with the north bank of the river on the left and the south bank on the right. In the lower left foreground is the garden of Fife House, at that time the home of the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, with the flag of St George flying from the garden wall and myriad figures scurrying about on the lawn. Below, on the water, are clustered several ceremonial barges, one of which flies the Royal Standard. The bridge itself, gleaming bright against the otherwise muted palette of the picture, cuts across the stream in the middle distance, reaching from Somerset House (home of the Royal Academy between 1780 and 1837) and the Savoy on the north bank, to Lambeth on the south. In the eighteenth century the south bank of the Thames had been characterised by pleasure gardens and theatres but by the early nineteenth century was becoming increasingly industrialised, as can be seen by the tower belching smoke and the densely packed, low lying wharfs along the bank. Beyond, in the far distance, the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral looms large above the skyline whilst the horizon is marked with white dashes indicating the numerous medieval church spires of the City of London. A puff of smoke at the centre of the bridge indicates that a salute has been fired, whilst out on the water and along its banks the river teams with life as the pageantry of the occasion gets under way. Such depictions of London’s river based festivities had long been a staple of artistic subject matter. Jan Wyck had painted Frost Fairs on the Thames in the seventeenth century and Canaletto, who spent a decade in London from the mid-1740s, painted numerous such scenes, like Westminster Bridge, with the Lord Mayor’s Procession on the Thames, 1747 (Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven). In addition to Constable’s many sketches and re-workings of this scene the original Waterloo Bridge would famously become immortalised in a large series of luminous paintings by Claude Monet in the very early twentieth century.

Collectors often choose this cityscape image when searching for cityscape oil painting that feels substantial rather than decorative or disposable.

How It Is Made

Trained artists work in stages — underpainting, mid-tones, highlights, and detail — using traditional oils on canvas. Because nothing is printed, every hand painted oil painting has its own subtle texture and depth.

Product Details

• Genuine hand painted oil painting on premium artist canvas; no printing or digital imaging is used.
• An extra 2-inch blank border is left around all edges for easy stretching and framing.
• Sold studio-direct and shipped worldwide, with no intermediary markup.
• Available canvas sizes for this hand painted oil painting: 20 X 24 in, 24 X 36 in, 30 X 40 in, 36 X 48 in, 48 X 72 in.
• Choose from standard sizes or request a custom dimension to fit your wall.
• Affordable delivery options via DHL, UPS, FedEx, USPS and more.
• Complimentary stretching over wooden stretcher bars; ask us about a custom frame.
• Before dispatch we email a digital proof so you can approve the finished canvas.

Wall Decor & Gifting

For bedroom wall art that does not feel generic, a painted cityscape canvas is hard to beat. It is a popular cityscape oil painting pick for new homeowners and a durable alternative to seasonal poster art.

Delivery, Sizes & Guarantee

Order The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, Seen from Whitehall Stairs, London, 18 June 1817 as a hand painted oil painting on canvas and add lasting romantic character to your bedroom. Custom sizes, a digital proof before dispatch, and secure worldwide shipping are included.