Westminster Bridge II

While De Nittis's earliest training was in his native Italy as a member of the Macchiaioli group, a circle of artists painting outdoors, in essence he was an Impressionist, having moved to Paris in 1867, exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874 and where he would spend the rest of his life. Like the Impressionist painters, De Nittis was a champion of what Charles Baudelaire called "the heroism of modern life", or to use another Baudelairian term, De Nittis was a flaneur, for the painter of la vie moderne had to be a wanderer in the big city. His depictions of bustling city life brought him success at the Salon and established him as a fundamental chronicler of Belle Epoque Society.

In the mid-1870s De Nittis travelled to London, staying with one of his patrons the banker Kaye Knowles, where he found another city that would provide him with a setting for a series of urban scenes, including the city landmarks Westminster Bridge, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace. These London views reflected the technical innovations he had learned from the French Impressionists in the early 1870's, particularly form Edgar Degas who had invited him to participate in the first Impressionist exhibition. Perhaps his closest link with the Impressionists is the artist's interest in representing the city in different seasons and under varied weather
conditions.

Westminster Bridge II is one of three versions of Westminster Bridge that De Nittis executed during his stay in London. The other versions are smaller and far less populated than the present work.