The artefact chosen from the Museum of London is the Rhinebeck Panorama (anonymous, c.1806-10). The watercolour painting is of a westward view of London in the very early nineteenth century, panoramically exhibiting the impact of the eighteenth century, such as the expansion of London, and the impact of the early stirrings of the industrial revolution. The panorama’s point of view was described that it is as if the painter was on the Tower Bridge, which at that time, has yet to be constructed. It has been speculated that the artist(s) may be painting from a hot-air balloon which enabled them to acquire the precise birds-eye view of the city as observed in the painting. The foreground of the panorama is of the Tower Hill area on the right, and Southwark on the left. The vista horizontally extends as far as to Windsor, with the Windsor Castle visible in the background. South-west London, as far Richmond can also be observed in the panorama, as well as Kew Gardens; areas which were then not yet considered to be parts of London. Sophie V. La Roche mentioned in her diary Sophie in London whilst reflecting on the history of the City:
‘The Thames flowed on just the same, washing the foot of the slopes of London, Richmond and Windsor like it does to-day’
La Roche’s description of the stretch of the Thames towards the west perfectly describes the view observed in this painting, as if she was with the artist(s) in the supposed hot-air balloon. The topographical details of the city places the viewer in the position of a pseudo-omniscient being, as they are able to peer into lives of London occupants from above. There are juxtapositions regarding the occurrences portrayed in the panorama; for instance, between the distressing building on fire in Southwark and the joyful civilians flying their kite in Tower Hill. Soldiers can be seen on the march during the changing of the guard, and the hustle and bustle of the city is exhibited through locals crossing London Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge. The picture accurately depicts the tumultuous and buzzing life in Georgian London.
The Rhinebeck Panorama was discovered more than a century after it was produced, lining a barrel of pistols in Rhinebeck, New York, hence the seemingly unfitting name. A curator and panoramic-painting expert, Ralph Hyde, holds the title as the man who had rediscovered the panorama. He prepared a number of publications, including the one in regard to this panorama, which to this day, holds the title as the all-time bestseller. Hyde was a keeper of maps and prints at Guildhall Library, and in the 1980s, he received a letter from a Canadian woman informing him about a panorama she had found in her uncle’s loft in a house in Rhinebeck, east of the Hudson River forty years before. This panorama has been a hidden gem for nearly two centuries — its excellence left unjustified, hidden in a barrel and was used to line pistols. Hyde discovered that the painting was a model for a larger panoramic engraving by the British artist, Robert Havell Jr. Havell Jr.’s work, Aeronautical View of London (1831) shows a profound similarity with the Rhinebeck Panorama. It is believed that Robert Havell Jr. brought the watercolour panels with him when he had to relocate and be based in America as he was appointed as the principal engraver for painter John James Audubon.
The panorama was assumed by experts to have been sketched approximately in the early nineteenth century, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This nation-wide industrialisation was one of the most prominent periods of all time as it completely altered Great Britain’s social and economic structures — a result of a transition to new and relatively advanced manufacturing processes. Effects on London caused by the City’s metamorphosis can be observed in the panorama. For instance, on the left side of the painting, the south side of the river, smoke can be seen coming out of chimneys. It is clear that the source of the some of the smoke originates from industrial sources, billowing from industrial chimneys. The era of the Industrial Revolution was also known as the Age of Steam, where London saw a rapid growth of industry from the late eighteenth century to the nineteenth century. Apart from the evolution of manufacturing, London was and is still an important port for trading activities. Ships of monumental proportions can be observed on the Thames in the panorama’s foreground. The ships crowding the river depicts the significance of the Port of London, which allowed international trade and contributed immensely to the city’s economy. In The Spectator’s paper 454, the ‘Spectator’ describes how the ‘Thames itself loaded with the product of each shore’ while Sophie V La Roche mentions in her diary ‘waters were fit to carry warships and merchant craft’ .
St Paul’s Cathedral’s importance is also carefully captured in the painting. The panorama accurately depicts the monument towering over the other buildings in London, surrounded by bell towers of the other churches in the City. The cathedral was, and is still a principal site in London, and holds a significant place in terms of national identity. The rebuilding of the cathedral, the addition of the dome, and the usage of Portland stone contributed to the shaping of St Paul’s individuality and its ‘rebirth’. The building’s reconstruction was completed in 1708, therefore when this panorama was approaching its completion, the cathedral had already been about a century old, and had gained the reputation as London’s most powerful symbol during that period of time. A multitude of literature have mentioned the greatness of St Paul’s Cathedral, and some have argued the use of the cathedral in ‘literary and visual propaganda […] to instil identity’ . For instance, in Charles P. Moretz’ Travels, he emotively describes the cathedral towering up ‘in immeasurable height into the clouds’ and ‘arose, like some huge mountain’ , likening it to a natural phenomenon and romanticising its vastness. Moretz also uses words such as ‘modern’ and ‘majestic’ to describe the monument, which will elicit feelings of pride within Londoners. Modern viewers of the Rhinebeck Panorama will be able to observe that the building mostly associated with London in the eighteenth and nineteenth century is the St Paul’s Cathedral, and not yet-to-be-built Elizabeth Tower, known commonly as Big Ben.
The artefact consists of four different watercolour panels instead of one long extension. The panels seem to conjoin in harmony even though they were speculated to may have been painted by three different painters — who specialise in separate skills of landscape engraving. The work is displayed in the ‘Expanding City’ gallery of the Museum of London, near objects found or produced in the eighteenth and nineteenth century such as maps, building tools, foundation stones of bridges and purchase letters of materials. Another panorama is displayed below the Rhinebeck Panorama — a vista of Westminster from the south-side of the Thames. It is obvious, however, that the Rhinebeck Panorama is the superior panorama as it carefully incapsulates the whole of London during that period of time. Magnifying sheets are provided for the viewers to inspect with accuracy the details in the painting as its fineness is almost microscopic. It was believed that the panorama was exhibited with other panoramas of European cities. The presentation of the panorama contributes to the showcasing of London’s identity and the rise of its branding as a metropolis. The main focus of the expansive painting is the City’s vastness and its inevitable growth. London in that era seems to be ever-expanding, described in literary texts as an ‘unwieldly metropolis’ and an ‘overgrown monster’ by Tobias Smollett and a ‘monstrous city’ by Daniel Defoe. Defoe also questions the City’s growth, mentioning the ‘great […] eminent increase of buildings’ and rhetorically asking ‘where must a circumvallation […] be placed?’. The Museum of London’s intention in presenting the Rhinebeck Panorama is to display the ‘Great’ City of London, in magnitude and in reputation, and to show how far it has developed since then, enabling the viewer to make comparisons between the eighteenth and nineteenth century London, and the modern-day twenty-first century London. This aim by the museum will convince viewers of London’s grandeur and its ever-growing reputation as one of the greatest cities in the world.