London from Greenwich Park (1809)

Turner, Joseph Mallord William (1775-1851)

London from Greenwich Park
exhibited 1809
Oil on canvas, 90.2 x 120 cm
Tate BritainLondon

Like the view from Richmond Hill, that upstream towards the City from Greenwich Park is one of the most prized prospects of the Thames. From the pastoral foreground with grazing deer, Turner looks over the Queen’s House and Greenwich Hospital towards London where St Paul’s Cathedral and the City churches rise through the smoky pall above the metropolis. Turner’s own verses, presented when the picture was exhibited at his Gallery in 1809, describe the mingled beauty and energy of the scene.

[[on separate caption, or ???decal on wall, put the following verses:]]

Where burthen’d Thames reflect the crowded sail
Commercial care and busy toil prevail
Whoese murky veil, aspiring to the skies
Obscures thy beauty, and thy form denies
Save where thy spires pierce the doubtful air
As gleams of hope amidst a world of care. (Tate)

Compare:

Turner, Joseph (1775-1851)
London, from Greenwich
1811
Princeton University Art MuseumPrinceton

 

 

See also:

• London (England)