Artwork
OPENING OF WATERLOO BRIDGE
OPENING OF WATERLOO BRIDGE is a print by the Impressionist artist John Constable. It is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This print is called OPENING OF WATERLOO BRIDGE.
It was created by John Constable in 1855.
The print is part of a series of mezzotints based on Constable's oil sketches and paintings, which is interesting because it shows how his work was shared with others after his death.
You can learn more about this style by looking at the movement: Realism.
Overview
The work titled Opening of Waterloo Bridge is a mezzotint print attributed to John Constable, dated 1855. It belongs to a larger collection of prints derived from the artist’s earlier oil sketches and paintings, illustrating how his landscape imagery was reproduced and circulated beyond his lifetime.
Subject & Meaning
Depicting the newly inaugurated Waterloo Bridge, the image captures a moment of urban development within an English landscape. By juxtaposing the engineered structure with surrounding natural elements, the composition reflects Constable’s interest in documenting contemporary progress while maintaining a focus on the interplay of light and atmosphere.
Technique & Style
Executed in mezzotint, the print employs a tonal range achieved through careful scraping and burnishing of the copper plate, allowing subtle gradations of light and shadow. This method aligns with the Realist tendency to render scenes with fidelity, emphasizing the atmospheric effects that Constable famously pursued in his paintings.
History & Provenance
The print forms part of a series of 22 landscape mezzotints produced under Constable’s supervision, originally published between 1830 and 1832 and later revised in a second edition. After Constable’s death, the plates continued to be re‑issued, and additional works were added by engraver David Lucas, extending the series’ reach.
Context
Created during a period when English landscape art was seeking broader public appreciation, the series served to disseminate Constable’s vision of the national scenery. By referencing earlier masters such as Claude Lorrain and J.M.W. Turner, the prints positioned English vistas within a tradition of atmospheric landscape representation.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition.
