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Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect

Horizontal oil painting in shades of pale purple, pink, and light blue of a bridge composed of multiple linked archways over water, engulfed in hazy fog. Various indistinct, colorful forms cross the bridge, and factory smokestacks rise in the distance.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Horizontal oil painting in shades of pale purple, pink, and light blue of a bridge composed of multiple linked archways over water, engulfed in hazy fog. Various indistinct, colorful forms cross the bridge, and factory smokestacks rise in the distance.

Date:

1903

Artist:

Claude Monet
French, 1840-1926

About this artwork

If not for the fog, Claude Monet once remarked, “London wouldn’t be a beautiful city. It’s the fog that gives it its magnificent breadth.” While working on his London Series, he rose early every day to paint Waterloo Bridge in the morning, moving on to Charing Cross Bridge at midday and in the afternoon. He observed both motifs from his fifth-floor window at the Savoy Hotel. The Art Institute’s two Waterloo Bridge paintings are dated 1900 and 1903, but both were likely begun in 1900 and dated only when Monet felt that they were finished. He worked on all of his London paintings in his studio in Giverny, refusing to send any of them to his dealer until he was satisfied with them as an ensemble.

Status

On View, Gallery 243

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Claude Monet

Title

Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1903

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Inscribed lower right: Claude Monet 1903

Dimensions

65.7 × 101 cm (25 7/8 × 39 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

Reference Number

1933.1163

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/20701/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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