''Long View of London from Bankside'' is a panoramic

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

made by

Wenceslas Hollar Wenceslaus Hollar (23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is known to German speakers as ; and to Czech speakers as . He is particu ...

in Antwerp in 1647. It depicts a

panorama of London The city of London has long been a subject for panoramas by artists, mapmakers, and topographers. Many of their works have this as their title. History The earliest topographical drawings preceded maps according to modern definition, although the ...

, based on drawings done while Hollar was in London in the early 1640s. Unlike earlier panoramas of London, Hollar's panorama takes a single viewpoint, the tower of St Saviour in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

(now Southwark Cathedral), from where he made the drawings. It shows the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

curving sinuously from left to right past the viewpoint.

Background

Hollar was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. After spending time in Stuttgart, Strasburg, and Cologne, he travelled with

Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel KG, (7 July 1585 – 4 October 1646) was a prominent English courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I, but he made his name as a Grand Tourist and art collector rather than as a politic ...

to Vienna and Prague and then accompanied Lord Arundel when he returned to England in 1627. Hollar created a long "View of Greenwich" in his first year in England, and a similar panoramic drawing in two parts has survived from 1638. He remained in the Earl's household in England for several years. Lord Arundel was a

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

; he left England in 1642 on a diplomatic mission and did not return before his death in 1646. Hollar passed into the service of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

(later King James II), but Hollar left London himself in 1644 to escape the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. After eight years in Antwerp, he returned to London in 1652, where he died in 1677.

Print

The work was etched on six plates, with the two ends printed from a single plate so the impression must be cut in half to assemble the full panorama. Each print measures about by , so the assembled work is about {{convert, 9, ft long. The prints were published by

Cornelis Danckerts Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...

. The panorama includes, from left to right, on the north bank, on the first plate, the

Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

, Suffolk House, York House, and Durham House; on the second plate, Salisbury House, the

New Exchange New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

on the Strand, the Savoy,

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

Arundel House Arundel House was a London town-house or palace located between the Strand and the River Thames, near the Church of St Clement Danes. History During the Middle Ages it was the town house of the Bishops of Bath and Wells, when it was kno ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, Essex House, the Temple and

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...

Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to: England * Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol * Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent * Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...

, and

Baynard's Castle Baynard's Castle refers to buildings on two neighbouring sites in the City of London, between where Blackfriars station and St Paul's Cathedral now stand. The first was a Norman fortification constructed by Ralph Baynard ( 1086), 1st feudal ...

; on the third plate,

Queenhithe Queenhithe is a small and ancient ward of the City of London, situated by the River Thames and to the south of St. Paul's Cathedral. The Millennium Bridge crosses into the City at Queenhithe. Queenhithe is also the name of the ancient, but now ...

, St Andrew's, Holborn,

Old St Paul's Cathedral Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Paul of Tarsus, Saint Paul, ...

, with Highgate Hill behind in the distance; on the fourth plate, the

Steelyard The Steelyard, from the Middle Low German (sample yard), was the main trading base () of the Hanseatic League in London during the 15th and 16th centuries. Location The Steelyard was located on the north bank of the Thames by the outflow o ...

Bow Church Bow Church is the parish church of St Mary and Holy Trinity, Stratford, Bow. It is located on a central reservation site in Bow Road (part of the A11), in Bow, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. There has been a church on the same site ...

, the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, Coalharbour,

All-Hallows-the-Great All-Hallows-the-Great was a church in the City of London, located on what is now Upper Thames Street, first mentioned in 1235. Destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, the church was rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. All-Hallo ...

St Laurence Pountney St Laurence Pountney was a Church of England parish church in the Candlewick ward of the City of London. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and not rebuilt. History The church stood on the west side of what is now Laurence Pountney ...

, the Royal Exchange, The Old Swan, St Michael's, St Peter's,

Fishmongers' Hall Fishmongers' Hall (sometimes shortened in common parlance to Fish Hall) is a listed building, Grade II* listed building adjacent to London Bridge. It is the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, one of the 110 livery companies of ...

St Magnus-the-Martyr St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge, is a Church of England church and parish within the City of London. The church, which is located in Lower Thames Street near The Monument to the Great Fire of London, is part of the Diocese of London and unde ...

Old London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It rep ...

, Greyfriars,

St Dunstan-in-the-East St Dunstan-in-the-East was a Church of England parish church on St Dunstan's Hill, halfway between London Bridge and the Tower of London in the City of London. The church was largely destroyed in the Second World War and the ruins are now a publi ...

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to the ...

All Hallows-by-the-Tower All Hallows-by-the-Tower, at one time dedicated jointly to All Hallows (All Saints) and the Virgin Mary and sometimes known as All Hallows Barking, is an ancient Anglican church on Byward Street in the City of London, overlooking the Tower of ...

, the

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

, the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, and meanders of the River Thames past

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

towards

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. On the south bank are the

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befor ...

theatres the

Globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...

and

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

(mislabelled), Winchester House,

, and St Olave's. Each large sheet frames a particular view: the Bankside theatres, St Paul's Cathedral, the City and Southwark, the Bridge, and the Tower. Downstream of London Bridge, the

Pool of London The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse. Part of the Tideway of the Thames, the Pool was navigable by tall-masted vessels bringing coastal and later overseas goods—the wharves there were the ...

throngs filled with a variety of ocean-going vessels. The view is not entirely accurate, with some alignments adjusted for aesthetic effect. For example, St Paul's Cathedral is depicted too far west, and St Olave's in line with the Tower. Hollar's dependence on old drawings is demonstrated by the presence of the Globe Theatre (mislabelled as "Beere bayting", that is the

Beargarden The Beargarden was a facility for bear-baiting, bull-baiting, and other "animal sports" in the London area during the 16th and 17th centuries, from the Elizabethan era to the English Restoration period. Baiting is a blood sport where an animal ...

) in a print made three years after it was demolished. Copying an error in the 1616

Visscher panorama The Visscher panorama is an engraving by Claes Visscher (1586-1652) depicting a panorama of London. It shows an imagined view of London in around 1600. The engraving was first published in Amsterdam in 1616, with the title "Londinum Florentissi ...

, the round theatre labelled "The Globe" is actually the

). The

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

and the

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

theatres had fallen into disuse by the 1630s. Various decorative elements are arranged around the scene. To the lower left of the first plate is a symbolic figure representing the law (with a sword) above a dedication to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, daughter of the Duke of York and wife of William of Orange, the future Queen Mary II, (EDIT - in fact this is Mary Stuart, Charles II's and James II's sister, who was married to William Prince of Orange, father to William III. James's daughter, who would become Queen Mary, was not born until 1662, so this Mary is not Queen Mary) and a poem to "Nympha Britannorum", with an inset panel denoted with an asterisk continuing the panorama to the left past

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

and

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

; overhead are three cherubs, one wearing a lion skin. The second plate has three cherubs in the sky with a pile of books, and one bearing aloft a

caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; la, cādūceus, from grc-gre, κηρύκειον "herald's wand, or staff") is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also ...

. Above St Paul's in the third plate is a figure of

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

in Roman costume, with winged boots and hat, holding a caduceus. The central fourth plate has a large decorative cartouche with the word "LONDON" with the arms of the City of London and lion supporters. A winged figure, possibly Fame, blows a trumpet at the top of the fifth plate. The sixth plate has three more cherubs, carrying a chain, a crown, a jewel chest, and a bird. The seventh plate has a river god above a 34 line Latin poem by

Edward Benlowes Edward Benlowes (12 July 160318 December 1676) was an English poet. Life The son of Andrew Benlowes of Brent Hall, Essex, he matriculated at St Johns College, Cambridge, on 8 April 1620. On leaving the university he travelled with a tutor on t ...

, with another cherub in the sky above, dressed as an American Indian and leading with an ostrich. Hollar's panorama was preceded by the

of 1616, which straightens out the river so buildings on each bank are displayed in a line, and

John Norden John Norden (1625) was an English cartographer, chorographer and antiquary. He planned (but did not complete) a series of county maps and accompanying county histories of England, the '' Speculum Britanniae''. He was also a prolific writer ...

's ''Civitas Londini'' of 1600, both of which are composite drawings made from a variety of different viewpoints. Hollar published another panorama of London and Westminster in 1666, showing views of the city from Lambeth "before" and "after" Great Fire of London. Two of Hollar's preliminary sketches were sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

in 1931, and are now held by the

Yale Center for British Art Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...

. A 1661 reprint by Justus Danckerts has a few changes, with a

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...

in Covent Garden, a dome for St Paul's, and

the Monument The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known simply as the Monument, is a fluted Doric column in London, England, situated near the northern end of London Bridge. Commemorating the Great Fire of London, it stands at the j ...

. An accurately copied lithograph was printed by Robert Martin in 1832.

References

A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etched Work of Wenceslaus Hollar 1607-1677
Richard Pennington], p. 175-6 *
A New Hollar Panorama of London
, John Orrell, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 124, No. 953 (Aug., 1982), pp. 498–499 and 501-502
Lithographed copy of Wenceslaus Hollar's 1647 Long View of London, by Robert Martin, 1832
Museum of London
The Prospect of London and Westminster taken from Lambeth by W Hollar, c.1647
British Museum
London_[the_long_view
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="he long view">London [the long view
/nowiki>">he long view">London [the long view
/nowiki> British Museum *
Sheet 1 and 7, 1864,0813.331
British Museum *
Sheet 2, 1864,0611.434
British Museum *
Sheet 3, 1864,0611.435
British Museum *
Sheet 4, 1864,0611.436
British Museum *
Sheet 5, 1864,0611.437
British Museum *
Sheet 6, 1864,0611.438
British Museum
View from Southwark Cathedral, c.1666
Museum of London
A true and exact propect of the famous citty of London ... before the fire [and
... after the sad calamitie [sic]], British Museum
Out of the shadows, Veronica Horwell on Gillian Tindall's life of the elusive artist Wenceslaus Hollar, The Man Who Drew London
The Guardian, 19 October 2002
After Wenceslaus Hollar A Panoramic View of London in 1647, and other views of London, 29 September 2010

A View from St. Mary's, Southwark, Looking Towards Westminster
The Yale Center for British Art
View of the East Part of Southwark, Looking Towards Greenwich
The Yale Center for British Art

Background

Print

References

Further reading