Gezicht op de kerk Saint Mary-le-Bow aan de straat Cheapside te Londen 1745 - 1753

Curator: Looking at this print, I am instantly transported—there’s a curious stillness despite all the activity suggested, you know? A quiet hum. Editor: You’ve described it well. What we are observing is “Gezicht op de kerk Saint Mary-le-Bow aan de straat Cheapside te Londen”—that’s “View of St. Mary-le-Bow Church on Cheapside Street in London”—an engraving made between 1745 and 1753. The artist is Robert Sayer. It is held at the Rijksmuseum. Curator: Oh, a London scene from the mid-18th century! I am swooning! And the Baroque architecture is sublime—all those meticulous details. It must have taken an eternity to engrave. Editor: What's striking to me is how Sayer presents London as a centre of social activity and trade. Note how the composition is framed. The Church is not just a place of worship but a signifier of cultural identity. The rising spire overlooks the citizens in the streets. Curator: True, true, the church spire definitely dominates the cityscape. But I'm caught by the tiny details – the carriages, the figures, even the dogs running in the streets. Each seems frozen in a perfect tableau of urban life. Editor: And notice, Sayer's perspective isn't simply documentary, he has made calculated artistic choices in composing the scene from the architecture of civic space to the commercial dynamism and life in the street. It reflects not only what he saw but also how London wished to see itself. Curator: Do you think people living in London at the time were even aware of the image they were projecting? Editor: Awareness? I suspect it was manufactured to some extent, a vision that reinforced Britain as a European cultural power. Images like these are important to understanding the values of the time. Curator: A bustling portrait of 18th-century London frozen in ink... a time capsule to unlock with a simple glance. Editor: A powerful reflection on London's identity then, and a revealing mirror to reflect our own time as well.