London, 1899 -1904 · Fog, Thames and industrial light

From his room at the Savoy Hotel, Claude Monet transforms Waterloo Bridge into a serial motif: the same bridge changes with the fog, the smoke, the sun, the time and the reflections of the Thames.

Claude Monet returned to London in 1899, 1900 and 1901 to work from the Savoy Hotel, whose windows overlook the River Thames. Waterloo Bridge stretches out before him; further away appear chimneys, buildings and smoke from the south bank. THE painter uses the same framing in constantly changing conditions. The structure of the bridge remains recognizable by its horizontal deck and arches, but the atmosphere can almost erase it. Natural fog, pollution industrial, boat steam and river light combine city, sky and water in a single colored material. Monet began the paintings in London then reworked them at length in his workshop in Giverny, looking less for the instantaneous that the exact agreement of a memorized print. Part of the views of Waterloo Bridge were presented in 1904 by Durand-Ruel with the Charing Cross Bridge and Parliament series. The four chosen works show the logic of variation: twilight softens blue and purple shapes; the pink effect warms the mist; the sun passes through smoke and reflections; the gray day reduces the city to a few cold values. The modern subject thus becomes one meditation on perception. The "The Bridge of Waterloo" selection notably compares Waterloo Bridge in London, at dusk, and Waterloo Bridge, pink effect. His reading favors the story.

Waterloo Bridge stays in one place, but the painting changes everything: in London, air, smoke and light are Monet's true motif.