.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The Pool of London spans the widest reach of the Thames around which the Romans first founded the city circa 33 AD, and is now divided in to an Upper and Lower Pool by Tower Bridge. For centuries it formed the centre of maritime trade and commerce to and from London.
This picture shows the Pool before the riverscape was so dramatically altered by the Great Fire of London in 1666. To the left can be seen the Church of St. Mary, Overy in Southwark, and Old London Bridge. The row of arches without houses was the result of a major alteration to the bridge in 1664-65, when a number of houses were demolished. Old St. Paul's Cathedral is shown in the middle distance, and in the right foreground the Tower of London, with a diverse range of shipping including English and Dutch men-o'war on the Thames.
Jacob Knyff was a Dutch topographical landscape painter and elder brother of Leonard Knyff (1650-1727), who popularised the bird's-eye prospect. Little is known of Jacob's movements between 1640 and 1670, except that he worked in Paris before settling in England by 1673 when he was either brought over by George, 1st Earl of Berkeley, or immediately employed by him to paint views. It is likely that Knyff had already worked on occasion for English patrons and may well have visited England prior to this. He died in London in 1681.
This picture shows the Pool before the riverscape was so dramatically altered by the Great Fire of London in 1666. To the left can be seen the Church of St. Mary, Overy in Southwark, and Old London Bridge. The row of arches without houses was the result of a major alteration to the bridge in 1664-65, when a number of houses were demolished. Old St. Paul's Cathedral is shown in the middle distance, and in the right foreground the Tower of London, with a diverse range of shipping including English and Dutch men-o'war on the Thames.
Jacob Knyff was a Dutch topographical landscape painter and elder brother of Leonard Knyff (1650-1727), who popularised the bird's-eye prospect. Little is known of Jacob's movements between 1640 and 1670, except that he worked in Paris before settling in England by 1673 when he was either brought over by George, 1st Earl of Berkeley, or immediately employed by him to paint views. It is likely that Knyff had already worked on occasion for English patrons and may well have visited England prior to this. He died in London in 1681.