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Lot Essay
This fine view of Westminster, taken from the east, is dominated by Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster on the north bank of the river, and Lambeth Palace on the south bank, the centres of ecclesiastical and political power.
The nearly completed Westminster Bridge, with its arches in white Portland stone, is shown in the centre of the composition. Construction of the bridge, which was built in response to the growth in the population of Westminster and approved by an Act of Parliament in 1736, was begun in 1739, under the supervision of the Swiss engineer Charles Labelye (c. 1705-c. 1781). The building of a bridge to span over 1,200 feet of river was by far the most ambitious engineering project of its day in England. Initially completed in October 1746, the fifth pier from the Westminster side began to sink the following spring. This, after much discussion, resulted in the rebuilding of the pier and two arches, and the bridge was only finally completed in November 1750, having cost a total of nearly £400,000. The first stone bridge to be built across the Thames since Old London Bridge, it revolutionised the ease with which the Thames could be crossed.
On the north bank of the river can be seen the twin turrets of the old Houses of Parliament and Westminster Hall. Westminster Abbey is shown with both of Hawksmoor’s towers which were completed in 1745. The most prominent building to the right of the Abbey is Inigo Jones’ magnificent Banqueting House, completed for King Charles I in 1622, the first purely Renaissance building in London, in front of which, lining the river front, are the handsome town houses of the Dukes of Richmond, Montagu and Portland, as well as that of the Earl of Pembroke.
The view is flanked on the right by the imposing seventy foot high wooden tower of the York Buildings Waterworks which had been erected in 1691. In the centre of the composition, Joli shows the barge that traditionally carried the Lord Mayor of London up the Thames from the city to Westminster to be sworn in office, an event that took place annually on 29 October.
Joli, who was born in Modena, was the most widely travelled of the Italian view painters of the eighteenth century. After studying in his native city he moved to Rome where he entered the studio of Giovanni Paolo Panini before returning north to Modena and Perugia to work as a scene painter. By 1735 he was in Venice, where he came into contact with Canaletto. The Austrian War of Succession (1741-48), however, was to impact on patronage of the arts in Europe and, like other continental artists of his generation, Joli was drawn to London. He arrived, having travelled through Germany, in 1744, and remained in London until 1748, after which he went to Madrid, before returning to Italy in 1755, where he settled in Naples under the patronage of Charles VII, later King Charles III of Spain. In London he is recorded as a painter of theatrical scenery. However, during this period, he also executed a number of decorative schemes, notably that which survives in the hall of the Richmond home of John James Heidegger, manager of the King’s theatre in the Haymarket (see E. Croft Murray, Decorative Painting in England 1537-1837, Feltham, 1970, II, p. 226 and pls. 35-6), as well as views of London and Richmond. Among Joli’s clients in London were Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, John, Lord Brudenell and Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond, grandson of King Charles II.
The nearly completed Westminster Bridge, with its arches in white Portland stone, is shown in the centre of the composition. Construction of the bridge, which was built in response to the growth in the population of Westminster and approved by an Act of Parliament in 1736, was begun in 1739, under the supervision of the Swiss engineer Charles Labelye (c. 1705-c. 1781). The building of a bridge to span over 1,200 feet of river was by far the most ambitious engineering project of its day in England. Initially completed in October 1746, the fifth pier from the Westminster side began to sink the following spring. This, after much discussion, resulted in the rebuilding of the pier and two arches, and the bridge was only finally completed in November 1750, having cost a total of nearly £400,000. The first stone bridge to be built across the Thames since Old London Bridge, it revolutionised the ease with which the Thames could be crossed.
On the north bank of the river can be seen the twin turrets of the old Houses of Parliament and Westminster Hall. Westminster Abbey is shown with both of Hawksmoor’s towers which were completed in 1745. The most prominent building to the right of the Abbey is Inigo Jones’ magnificent Banqueting House, completed for King Charles I in 1622, the first purely Renaissance building in London, in front of which, lining the river front, are the handsome town houses of the Dukes of Richmond, Montagu and Portland, as well as that of the Earl of Pembroke.
The view is flanked on the right by the imposing seventy foot high wooden tower of the York Buildings Waterworks which had been erected in 1691. In the centre of the composition, Joli shows the barge that traditionally carried the Lord Mayor of London up the Thames from the city to Westminster to be sworn in office, an event that took place annually on 29 October.
Joli, who was born in Modena, was the most widely travelled of the Italian view painters of the eighteenth century. After studying in his native city he moved to Rome where he entered the studio of Giovanni Paolo Panini before returning north to Modena and Perugia to work as a scene painter. By 1735 he was in Venice, where he came into contact with Canaletto. The Austrian War of Succession (1741-48), however, was to impact on patronage of the arts in Europe and, like other continental artists of his generation, Joli was drawn to London. He arrived, having travelled through Germany, in 1744, and remained in London until 1748, after which he went to Madrid, before returning to Italy in 1755, where he settled in Naples under the patronage of Charles VII, later King Charles III of Spain. In London he is recorded as a painter of theatrical scenery. However, during this period, he also executed a number of decorative schemes, notably that which survives in the hall of the Richmond home of John James Heidegger, manager of the King’s theatre in the Haymarket (see E. Croft Murray, Decorative Painting in England 1537-1837, Feltham, 1970, II, p. 226 and pls. 35-6), as well as views of London and Richmond. Among Joli’s clients in London were Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, John, Lord Brudenell and Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond, grandson of King Charles II.