Somerset House Terrace from Waterloo Bridge
John Constable
ca. 1819
On June 18, 1817, Constable watched the ceremonial opening of Waterloo Bridge by the Prince Regent. A royalist with a strong sense of history, Constable imagined a grand work that would fuse the genres of landscape and historical painting. He toiled for many years, producing smaller sketches and studies until he finally completed it in 1832. This early study captures the view from Waterloo Bridge toward Somerset House, the home of the Royal Academy since 1780. Constable also gave the building a prominent position in the final version of The Opening of Waterloo Bridge.
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven · Image: Yale Center for British Art, Public domain · Text: Yale Center for British Art, CC0