The Lord Mayor's barge is situated prominently in the right foreground, its billowing red standard leading the eye back to the pale horizontal line of the bridge and the distant dome of St Paul's Cathedral. Beyond the left-hand end of the bridge is Somerset House, the home of the Royal Academy, where the picture was exhibited in 1832. By comparison with earlier versions of the subject, the onlooker is distanced from the main events and greater prominence is given to the river and the vast expanse of sky.

The combination of dark foreground and a raised viewpoint draws the eye towards the distant bridge and the gathering clouds. Towards the centre of the bridge a puff of smoke indicates the firing of a gun salute. The foreground is separated from the main scene by a long parapet surmounted by urns, and Constable draws the viewer's attention to two small boys, engrossed in some activity of their own, oblivious of the day's events.

One of Constable's later works, the picture owes a debt to the Thames pictures of Canaletto and the great 'historical' landscapes of Claude Lorrain. Technically, the picture is distinguished by its animated surface and variety of handling. The thin brown underpainting is visible in places; elsewhere Constable has used the palette knife to build up a thick impasto. The vigorous application of paint is particularly obvious in the foreground of the picture, where bold touches of red, green and white bring the picture to life. On witnessing the brilliant colour of Constable's painting, hanging beside his cool-toned seapiece, 'Helvoetsluys' (private collection, London), at the Royal Academy exhibition, Turner is said to have added a bright red buoy to his own work, in order to redress the balance.

Further Reading: Malcolm Cormack, 'Constable', Oxford 1986, pp.213–216, reproduced pl.203, in colour. Leslie Parris and Ian Fleming-Williams, 'Constable', exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery 1991, pp.369–372, reproduced p.370, in colour. 'Tate Gallery Illustrated Catalogue of Acquisitions 1986–1988', London 1996, pp.12–16, reproduced p.12. Frances Fowle November 2000