In each of the pieces featured below, London-based Redditor shystone has ingeniously matched up 18th and 19th century paintings of specific places in London with the photos of how the city looks today. I love how the mash up allows the viewer to compare the architecture and surroundings of contemporary London with what these artists captured and observed centuries ago. This project was particularly suited to London, which has preserved so much of its architectural history, making it even more interesting to notice what stayed the same and what changed. The different scenes depicted around the architecture add another layer to the comparison by presenting the types of activities that occurred at those locations in the past, but placing them in the present. I have a particular fondness for the first match up depicting the Strand since I lived there in grad school!
I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!
The Strand Looking East from Exeter Exchange (1822) by Artist Unknown
St. Martins in the Fields (1888) by William Logsdail
Northumberland House (1752) by Canaletto
The 9th of November, 1888 (1890) by William Logsdail
Westminster Abbey with a Procession of Knights of the Bath (1749) by Canaletto
The River Thames with St. Paul's Cathedral on Lord Mayor's Day (1746) by Canaletto
View of the Grand Walk (1751) by Canaletto
Covent Garden Market (1737) by Balthazar Nebot
A View of Greenwich from the River (1750-2) by Canaletto
Blackman Street London (1885) by John Atkinson Grimshaw