Temple Bar 1885

Curator: Joseph Pennell created this etching, "Temple Bar," in 1885. It offers a glimpse into a bustling city scene. Editor: It's like peering through a rain-streaked window. I immediately get a sense of London's perpetual dampness. The mood is so evocative, almost melancholic, despite the flurry of activity depicted. Curator: Absolutely. The print is rendered in incredibly fine lines. Pennell uses etching to capture the intricacies of urban life. Notice how the dragon statue atop Temple Bar dominates the composition. Dragons have always been significant guardians. Editor: Yes, that dragon, perched above the city, feels a bit out of place, like a mythical beast overseeing the mundane. It introduces a fantastical element into what would otherwise be a purely realistic depiction of city life. Are there messages that dragon brings? Curator: The dragon is one of the city's traditional symbols—a marker of boundaries. It represented the limits of the City of London and also protection. Here, it seems like it’s more of a heraldic emblem rather than a fire-breathing menace. It reminds me of how we define places and ascribe meanings to them, particularly in a city filled with memories. Editor: I love the ambiguity. Is it a warning, a celebration, or just an acknowledgement of invisible borders? And the reflections on the wet pavement—they double everything, distorting it, making it feel fleeting. Curator: Pennell was associated with the Impressionist movement, so he definitely looked at capturing atmosphere, transience, and light as his primary objective. Cityscapes, like this, were an attempt to capture fleeting impressions of urban life. Editor: It’s quite fascinating how such a permanent medium – an etching – tries to nail something as ethereal as a fleeting moment. Perhaps that's the beauty of it—the attempt itself, to capture time in a tangible form. Curator: I agree completely. The artist’s work serves as a lens through which we examine our perceptions of the city—as an active site of commerce and change. Editor: Indeed. I walk away with a sense of the layered history embedded in the streets beneath our feet, a kind of symbolic architecture brought to life through Pennell's print.