Artwork
First Exeter Bridge, Derby
First Exeter Bridge, Derby is an oil painting by the British Romanticist artist Robert Bradley. It dates from 1838 and is held in the collection of the Derby Museum and Art Gallery.
About this work
Overview
Robert Bradley’s 1838 oil painting, titled First Exeter Bridge, Derby, presents a tranquil river crossing framed by a modest wooden bridge. The composition balances the engineered structure with natural surroundings, featuring a church steeple in the distance and a small boat carrying two figures in the foreground.
Subject & Meaning
The work captures a moment of everyday life along the River Derwent, where the bridge serves both functional and aesthetic purposes. The presence of the cathedral’s steeple anchors the scene within Derby’s urban landscape, while the leisurely boat suggests a calm, communal atmosphere.
Technique & Style
Bradley employs a restrained chiaroscuro, allowing light to filter across the bridge’s timber and the water’s surface, creating subtle contrasts that give depth to the architecture and foliage. The brushwork remains delicate, rendering the trees and sky with a soft, atmospheric quality.
History & Provenance
Since its creation in 1838, the painting has remained within the region, eventually entering the collection of the Derby Museum and Art Gallery, where it is displayed as part of the institution’s representation of local 19th‑century landscape art.
Artist & collection
Artist
An English landscape painter in oils, Robert Bradley captured quiet corners of the River Derwent and Derby’s first bridge around 1838–1850.
Junction of River and Canal, Derby
River Derwent from Exeter Bridge
Derby from the Meadows
Derby from Burton Road
St Mary's Bridge, Derby
Derby from a Field Adjoining Abbey Barns
Derby from the South-East
View of Derby from Nottingham Road
Abbot's Hill House, Derby
The River Derwent from the Great Northern Railway Bridge, Derby
