This view of the Thames from London Bridge is one of four works painted by Derain, showing the same part of the river. At this time he was a leading member of the fauve group of painters in Paris. He had been sent to London by his dealer to update the popular Thames views painted by Claude Monet a few years earlier. Strongly-coloured and freely-handled, this painting is characteristic of fauvism in creating vivid effects through bold contrasts of colour.