London Bridge
Clara Montalba (1840-1929)
1908
Watercolour on paper
H 29.8 x W 13.2 cm.
Collection and image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums
Accession no. ABDAG004421
Bequeathed by Alexander Webster, 1921
Clara Montalba loved the canals of Venice but grew up in and continued to visit London, where she also painted the main waterway — the Thames. This view, taken from the South Bank, shows London Bridge as it was then, with the stately neo-classical Fishmongers' Hall to the west on one side, and the Monument and the Church of St Magnus the Martyr on the other. It was a popular view, enlivened here by the masts and furled sails of the vessels, especially the tall reddish-brown sail that cuts across the scene quite dramatically, at a slant. — Jacqueline Banerjee