The Monument of London in Rememberance of Dreadfull Fire in 1666

This view shows the Monument, a colossal stone Doric column built between 1671 and 1677 with St Magus in the background looking down Fish Street Hill towards London Bridge.

This engraving is derived from a drawing by the great Venetian artist Canaletto who came to London in 1746 seeking British patrons. His works combined elegance with workaday descriptions which were very evocative of London. Within ten years of his arrival he had asserted a strong influence on British topographical painting and his influence was widely disseminated through etchings and prints such as this one. By focusing on the height of the Monument of 202 feet high, the engraving highlights the purpose of the Monument, namely to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666. This distance of 202 feet is the exact distance between the Monument and the site of the start of the Fire in Pudding Lane.

This view was engraved by Thomas Bowles who worked with his father also Thomas at the family business in St Paul's Churchyard and published by John Boles his uncle.