The Lobkowicz Collections’ iconic Antonio Canaletto painting London: The Thames on Lord Mayor’s Day, looking towards the City and St. Paul’s Cathedral (circa 1750) will be loaned to the National Maritime Museum (Greenwich, United Kingdom), where it will feature as the centerpiece of the upcoming exhibition Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames.
Organized in celebration of the 60th year of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and the 75th anniversary of the Museum, Royal River will explore the relationship between monarchs, London and its citizens, which through the lens of the Thames and throughout the City’s history brought together all three during displays of royal power, patronage and pageantry.
The participation of Canaletto’s London: The Thames on Lord Mayor’s Day in Royal River will mark the first time the painting has returned to England since it was painted over 260 years ago. It will be exhibited alongside more than 350 objects and paintings, among them many pieces never previously seen by the public. The exhibition will run from 27 April through 9 September 2012.
About the Painting
The painting was brought into The Lobkowicz Collections by Ferdinand Philip, 6th Prince Lobkowicz (1724–1784), who acquired it after an introduction to Canaletto in London, where the Prince had traveled to buy horses. The painting, along with a second slightly earlier Canaletto of the same size and also featuring the Thames, was sent to the 6th Prince’s home in Bohemia, where it hung for centuries in the Lobkowicz ducal residence of Roudnice Castle.
London: The Thames on Lord Mayor’s Day remained in the possession of the Lobkowicz family until the 20th century, when it was confiscated first by the Nazis at the start of World War II and then by the Communist government that came to power in Czechoslovakia in 1948. In the early 1990s, the painting was returned to the Lobkowiczes following the passage of three restitution laws by the government of President Václav Havel.
Since restitution, the painting has formed part of the permanent collections, first at Nelahozeves Castle and, since 2007, at the Lobkowicz Palace Museum in Prague Castle.
