David Roberts, The Houses of Parliament from Millbank and the London series

The Museum of London is fortunate in having recently acquired at auction The Houses of Parliament from Millbank (1861) by David Roberts RI (1796-1864) (Fig. 1). (1) This magnificent painting of the Palace of Westminster takes its viewpoint from the horse ferry at Millbank, and was the first of a series of seven paintings in which Roberts depicted London's great architectural monuments from the river. His 'Serries [sic] of Pictures of the River Thames' marked a major change in subject for the artist, and it was with some trepidation that he first exhibited four of them at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition in 1862. (2)

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

On 21 March 1862, Roberts confessed to a friend his nervousness at exhibiting his new work: 'I am anxious as a novice with his first picture', he wrote 'for I break new ground with my "London from the Thames".' (3) At the age of sixty-four, Roberts was the grand old man of landscape and architectural painting, and for an artist of his age and standing it was a brave decision to turn his attention to London. His views of Spain, Italy and the Near East had won him a well-deserved reputation as a painter of foreign lands. His careful architectural drawing, heightened perspectives and dramatic lighting effects conveyed his own sense of awe to viewers in Britain, to whom such scenes were either imagined or faint memories. 'With unwearied industry', Ruskin recalled, 'both in Egypt and Spain', Roberts 'brought home records of which the value is now forgotten in the perfect detail of photography, and sensational realism of the effects of light ...' (4) To paint London, the city in which he had been based for nearly forty years, would be to allow critics and the exhibition-going public to make a direct comparison between his works and their subjects. Roberts was very aware of the close scrutiny that his London paintings would undergo, as is apparent from his apprehension at their first public exhibition.

So why did this distinguished and respected painter decide to turn his attention to a sustained series of paintings of London from the Thames? The answer is fourfold and hinges on his affection for the city and the encouragement of two individuals: J.M.W. Turner and C.T. Lucas. According to James Ballantine, Roberts's old friend and biographer, the series was suggested to him by Turner: 'The idea of painting a series of "Pictures of London from the Thames" had been suggested to Roberts by Turner, who said he thought of it too late in life to carry it out himself. On the very last occasion on which Sir Charles Barry and Roberts met this had formed a chief subject of their conversation, and Roberts had pledged himself to begin the work without delay. The death of Sir Charles, which took place on 12 May 1860, affected Roberts very deeply, and, in accordance with his promise, he shortly thereafter began to make sketches of that magnificent series, on a picture from one which he was engaged the day he died.' (5)

There are clear signs of Turner's influence in The Houses of Parliament from Millbank. Yet although this may explain Roberts's initial impetus for starting the series, it does not fully account for his long-term commitment to the project. Two of the reasons for this are connected with the artist's attachment to London. In a letter to Ballantine, after stating his pursuit of constant improvement, he acknowledged his fascination with the Thames: 'My dear Ballantine,--I am still going on as usual, trying to paint something better than hitherto. I have long thought that the river Thames itself was as good, if not better, than many things we go to other countries to look for.' (6)

Along the Thames he found buildings that he greatly admired, and none more so than Barry's great Gothic Revival masterpiece. Indeed, three of the seven images of the Thames focus upon different views of the Houses of Parliament. Roberts's admiration for Barry's vision extended beyond its visual appearance; 'In the Houses of Parliament', he wrote 'he [Barry] has not only introduced the decorative Gothic, but he created, what was much more desiderated, a school of carvers in wood and stone, and workers in metal. (7)

His devotion to the views that he saw on the Thames, when it was not obscured by fog, made it natural for him to be concerned about planned developments, particularly those for the new embankment. In a characteristic letter of 1860, while recalling the daily routine of his walks, he also revealed a sense of urgency in recording London as he saw it at that time, before it changed forever: 'I am, as usual, when the afternoon is fine, taking my stroll about town, on and near the river ... I have to get into all sorts of disagreeable and odd places ... the work must be done now or never, as the proposed new embankment will completely change the appearance of the river and its picturesque adjuncts.' (8) For all that his letters of complaint about plans for the new embankment, which he regarded as 'so utterly out of keeping with the Bridge and Lambeth Palace', (9) failed to avert their development, his paintings succeed in recording the Thames as it was in 1861.