Technique

The 1995 catalogue summarises the technique as follows:

'This is one of several aides-mémoires of the Thames … The river was indicated with very few lines. Two lines go right across the buildings along the horizon. One clean outline was drawn right across the paper from left to right. Some vertical shading was added, and soft, vague horizontals along the shore line, punctuated irregularly with the dots and relections of lights along the riverside, added in white. It is on a quite fine brown paper with a yellowish tone.' 1

Conservation History

Torn into four pieces by the artist and repaired by Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913) .

Way's 'reduced facsimile' of the drawing, published in 1912, may not have been entirely accurate. Some lines in the drawing are partly missing from the reproduction, while others are more prominent. 2 Way's reproductive process is not known, although it has been assumed he was using a photo-lithographic process: he may also have touched up or emphasized some colours. On the other hand, some of the chalk lines in the original drawing may have been rubbed or faded slightly.