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Notes
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A panoramic view showing the funeral procession of Lord Nelson on the River Thames, to the Admiralty in Whitehall, after his lying in state at the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich. His body was placed inside four coffins. The inner one was of wood from the mainmast of the French flagship 'L'Orient', destroyed at the Battle of the Nile (1798). This was cased in lead with an outer wooden coffin, the whole having lain in state in a gilt outer casket designed by the Ackermann brothers. Thus enclosed the body was carried from Greenwich to Whitehall Stairs on a black-canopied funeral barge and was accompanied by over 60 boats including the barge of the Lord Mayor. The river procession is clearly shown in the painting, with the black plumes marking the funeral barge.
The painting looks down river, with the dome of St Paul's visible on the northern bank in the distance, amid spires of the City churches. The York Watergate (now landlocked in the public gardens by Embankment underground station) dominates the left foreground of the painting with the arched vaults of the Adelphi visible beyond.
The sky above St Paul's is shown bathed in light, a device used by the artist to enhance the symbolic effect, although an eyewitness account referred to a violent cloudburst as the coffin reached Whitehall Stairs. Blackfriars Bridge spans the river with Watt's Shot Tower clearly identifiable on the right or Surrey bank. Architectural detailing has been closely observed but the perspective of the painting is inaccurate and the overall effect is highly stylised.
Title
Nelson's Funeral Procession on the Thames, 9 January 1806
Date
1807
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 58.4 x W 106.6 cm
Accession number
BHC0569
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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The Funeral Procession of Lord Nelson, on the Thames, London Museum of London -
The Adelphi and the City from the River, London, with the Funeral Procession of Lord Nelson Museum of London -
Richmond Bridge Victoria and Albert Museum -
Lambeth Palace from Millbank, London Museum of London -
Blackfriars Bridge and St Paul's from the Bridge Museum of London -
The Tower of London from the River Museum of London -
Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith and Fulham Archives and Local History Centre - 30 more
