Gezicht op de Waterloo Bridge vanaf de oostzijde van het terras van Somerset House Possibly 1818

Joseph Constantine Stadler created this aquatint of the Waterloo Bridge from the east side of the Somerset House terrace. The bridge, completed in 1817, was initially named Strand Bridge but was renamed to commemorate the British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This name change reflects the intense nationalism of the period and the desire to memorialize military triumphs in the urban landscape. Notice the leisurely figures strolling along the terrace, this hints at the social and class dynamics of the time, illustrating who had access to these spaces and the leisure to enjoy them. The bridge itself symbolizes progress, modernity, and the human capacity to transform the natural world. Yet the presence of smoke stacks in the background are a reminder of the environmental cost of this progress. Stadler’s aquatint serves as a cultural artifact, embodying both the pride in national achievements and the subtle awareness of the changing social and environmental landscape of early 19th-century London.