The legacy of the seventeenth century in London

The Prospect of London and Westminster

Author: HOLLAR, Wenceslaus

Publication place: London

Publication date: after 1697

Physical description: Engraved panorama.

Notes

A later state of Hollar’s view of London, showing the changes to the city from the date it was first published in the 1640s. In the second half of the seventeenth century London underwent the Civil War, the Black Death and the Fire of London, precipitating a wave of rebuilding and restructuring across the city.

The legacy of the Fire is shown by the new St Paul’s Cathedral as designed by Sir Christopher Wren, with a dome rather than a spire. The spires to the left are some of the fifty new churches Wren built to replace those lost in the Fire. To the right, the Monument to the Fire of London (marked ​‘at’) is present, erected in 1677.

The view offers a snapshot of everyday life in the city: on the river, the Lambeth ferry is visible with a coach and two horses on board, with passengers waiting on the opposite bank. The hills of Hampstead and Highgate have been outlined on the horizon, indicating the growth of the city after the fire.

Pennington dates this state to after 1697, when the new St Paul’s was completed. This is an early impression of the state, from the late seventeenth century. 

Bibliography

Pennington 1013 (ii) (d)

• Pennington, R. (2002). A descriptive catalogue of the etched work of Wenceslaus Hollar, 1607–1677. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Price

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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