Old Westminster Bridge, 1859 RMG PW5485

Old Westminster Bridge, 1859
Whistler's etching of Labelye's original Westminster Bridge, opened in 1750. This was number four of Whistler's 'Series of Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames and Other Subjects'. Old Westminster Bridge is shown in the distance with the newly built Houses of Parliament on the skyline. By 1859, work was well underway on the new Westminster Bridge, Thomas Page's cast-iron structure, which opened in 1864.
The artist has concentrated on the view showing the broad expanse of the river and used only a few lines to indicate the movement of water. Two small paddle steamers are shown on the water with the sails of small craft beyond. The chimneys of factories on the south bank are sketched on the right. Two men on horseback are shown in the foreground in a stylistic pose evoking the prints of Rembrandt. The image narrows towards the bridge in the distance. There is an unreal sensation of calm, emphasised by the paddle steamers giving little impression of moving through the water. The work is signed and dated 'Whistler 1859', lower left.
This image is either at state three or four print, determined by the addition of the cloud to the left of the tower and the lines in the water which meet at the man on the right’s head, as well as the addition of further etching across the sky.

Old Westminster Bridge, 1859