Thames Map: Works
Thames Map: Walks
Polluted Landscapes
Tate Boat
Houses of Parliament
Monet’s Views of the Thames: The Houses
of Parliament
The Houses of Parliament became a recurring theme
in Monet’s work around 1900. The views shown here were taken
from a covered terrace at St Thomas’s Hospital, on the opposite
bank of the river, close to Westminster Bridge. From here Monet
could work in the open air in the late afternoon, capturing the
effects of the sun setting behind the buildings.
This group of canvases are identical in size, and
show the same time of day. The sky and water, painted with the same
colours, takes up most of the space; paradoxically, the mist and
fog, along with the water, are almost more tangible than the architecture,
which is evanescent and dissolves in the light.
Houses of Parliament, Sunset (two works)
Listen to excerpt from Audio Tour
Claude Monet
Houses of Parliament, Sunset 1904
Oil on canvas.
Lent by the Kunsthaus Zurich, gift of Walter Haefner
Claude Monet
Houses of Parliament, Sunset 1904
Oil on canvas.
Lent by the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld
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Houses of Parliament, Sunlight Effect
Claude Monet
Houses of Parliament, Sunlight Effect 1903
Oil on canvas.
Lent by Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York
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Houses of Parliament: Effect of Sunlight in the Fog
Claude Monet
Houses of Parliament: Effect of Sunlight in the Fog 1904
Oil on canvas.
Lent by the Musée d'Orsay, Paris
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The Burning of the Houses of Parliament (three works)
Listen to excerpt from Audio Tour
JMW Turner
The Burning of the Houses of Parliament 1834
Watercolour on paper.
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
JMW Turner
The Burning of the Houses of Parliament 1834
Watercolour on paper.
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
JMW Turner
The Burning of the Houses of Parliament 1834
Watercolour on paper.
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
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Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons
This is one of two oil paintings distilling Turner's
observations of the destruction of the old Houses of Parliament
in 1834. The cataclysmic spectacle was seen by huge crowds thronging
the bridges and embankments, while others took to the water. Some
saw the fire as purging a corrupt system that had only recently,
grudgingly, passed the Great Reform Bill, bringing increased parliamentary
representation across the nation.
Turner's painting was not widely exhibited or reproduced
in the nineteenth century, but Whistler may have seen it when it
was with a dealer who was publishing his Thames etchings around
1873, when Whistler was working on his Nocturnes.
JMW Turner
Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16th October 1834 exhibited 1835
Oil on canvas.
Lent by Philadelphia Museum of Art
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The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, from the River (two works)
JMW Turner 1775-1851
The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, from the River 1834
Watercolour on paper.
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
JMW Turner 1775-1851
The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, from the River 1834
Watercolour on paper.
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
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Colour Study: The Burning of the Houses of Parliament (two works)
These watercolour studies are the leaves of a sketchbook
in which Turner recorded the fire in the old Houses of Parliament
in October 1834. There has been considerable debate about whether
Turner made them on the spot, or some time later in his studio,
while still imbued with strong impressions of this memorable event.
The backs of some sheets are blotted with colour, suggesting that
he worked through his ideas rapidly, before the paint had time to
dry, and that they were all part of one sequence. The records of
his painting practice show that he worked in batches, like Monet,
going from image to image, building each up in stages using the
same range of tones.
Listen to excerpt from Audio Tour
JMW Turner
Colour Study: The Burning of the Houses of Parliament 1834
Watercolour on paper.
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
JMW Turner
Colour Study: The Burning of the Houses of Parliament 1834
Watercolour on paper.
Tate. Bequeathed by the artist 1856
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The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, with Westminster Bridge
JMW Turner
The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, with Westminster Bridge 1834
Watercolour on paper.
Bequeathed by the artist 1856
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