Pierre Prévost’s A Panoramic View of London, from the Tower of St Margaret’s Church, Westminster is a rare surviving example of a panorama, a circular canvas installed in a purpose built rotunda and viewed from the centre as an immersive experience.

Prévost was a master of the genre, and created celebrated panoramas of Paris, Amsterdam and Athens. The French artist is thought to have made this study in 1815, during a visit to London after the Battle of Waterloo. The 30m-long finished version was exhibited in Paris in 1817. Now acquired by the Museum of London, this highly finished, 6m-wide watercolour study provides an invaluable record of the capital city as it looked in the early decades of the 19th century.

The panorama has been acquired with the help of Art Fund, the Aldama Foundation and a group of individual donors, with additional support from Michael Spencer, the Leche Trust and other donors who wish to remain anonymous.

Provenance

With Pierre Faure, Tolouse; sold to private owner; sold Sotheby's 2018.


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