Valencia. View under the walls of the town on the banks of the Guadalquivir [sic]

Valencia. View under the walls of the town on the banks of the Guadalquivir [sic] 

Louis Haghe (?) after George Vivian, 1838 

Hand-coloured lithograph 

This lithograph depicts a view from the south bank of the River Turia in Valencia bathed in a warm light. The bridge in the middle ground can be identified as the Puente El Real, built in in the late sixteenth century following the destruction of an earlier bridge due to floods. It features pointed cutwaters, ten segmental arches (only nine are visible here), a stepped ramp to the riverbed, and two stone edicules, which are built on the cutwaters on the left, sheltering the statues of San Vicente and San Vicente Ferrer. The imposing building in the distance, left of centre, is the former Colegio de San Pío V, which now houses the Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia. The dome visible behind the city walls on the left belongs to the Church of Santos Tomas y Felipe Neri.  

The original title of the lithograph wrongly identifies the river as the Guadalquivir rather than the Turia, which borders the old city centre of Valencia.  

The lithograph is interesting for it shows a view that is no longer possible. After a particularly devastating flood in 1957, the river was diverted in the 1960s. The riverbed was subsequently turned into a recreational park, which was inaugurated in 1986 as the Turia Gardens. 

Title: Valencia. View under the walls of the town on the banks of the Guadalquivir [sic]. 

Author/Artist: Louis Haghe? (1806-1885, lithographer) after a drawing by George Vivian (1798-1873).   

Technique and Material: Hand-coloured lithograph on paper.  

Size: 240 x 385 mm (image), 550 x 370 mm (page).  

Published: Plate 19 from George Vivian, Spanish Scenery, London: P & D Colnaghi. 

Date: 1838.  

Marks and Inscriptions: none.   

Institution: Barry Ife Collection.