The Great Fire of London in the Year 1666

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

To the left of this image of devastation, Ludgate (the western most gate in London Wall) is filled with flames during the Great Fire of London. The gate was destroyed by the fire and was later rebuilt, before being demolished in 1760. This aquatint illustrates the moment just after the walls adjacent to Ludgate fell. In the background stand the medieval St. Paul's Cathedral and the Norman church of St Mary-le-Bow, both of which were later destroyed by the fire. To the left of the foreground, families can be seen fleeing the city.

The Great Fire of London began on Sunday 2 September 1666 at a baker's shop in Pudding Lane, near London Bridge. It took less than a week for the fire to destroy 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House and numerous other business and municipal buildings. However, only eight deaths were recorded as a result of the fire. Many printed images illustrating the Great Fire have been published, recording this momentous event in London’s history.

Jan Griffier senior was born in Amsterdam and trained in the studio of Roeland Roghman. He soon discovered a talent for imitating work by other painters. In about 1672, he travelled to England, initially working in the studio Jan Looten. He became a ‘free Brother’ of the Painter-Stainers’ Company in 1677. His landscape views of Italy and the vicinity of the Rhine sold well and he purchased a yacht, which became his family home on the Thames. He married at least twice and had at least five children. In 1695 he set off for Amsterdam but was shipwrecked on route and lost almost all his assets. By 1704 he had returned to London with his son, Jan Griffier junior. His work typically includes sun-drenched Italian or Dutch winter landscapes.
William Russell Birch was born in Warwickshire, the son of a surgeon. As a child he was taken in by a wealthy cousin in Birmingham, who apprenticed him to London jeweller and goldsmith Thomas Jeffreys. Six years later he began studying enamel painting under Henry Spicer. In 1775 he was living in Covent Galrden. By 1787, he had moved to Hampstead Heath and he exhibited Royal Academy from 1781 to 1794. He also began working as a printmaker. In 1794, he emigrated to Philadelphia with his son, Thomas (later a marine painter). Along with his son, he engraved two series of ‘Views in Philadelphia’ (1800) and ‘Country Seats...’ (1808), as well painting enamels and miniatures of prominent Americans. He died in Philadelphia, aged 79.

Places

England, London, City of London

Subjects

cart, topography, townscape/cityscape, horse, fire, stone/rock, baby, man, fire of London, house, cathedral, ruin, window

Materials & Techniques

aquatint, coloured aquatint

Artist

Jan, Snr Griffier (c1645 - 1718)
William Russell Birch (1755 - 1834)

Title

The Great Fire of London in the Year 1666

Edition

proof

Date

published 1 December 1792

Medium

Coloured aquatint

Acquisition

Purchased from Baynton-Williams, February 1977

GAC number

12831