Impressionism, series and atmosphere from 1870 to the 1900s

At Monet, fog does not hide the motif: it reveals how light, color, water and architecture are recomposed at every moment.

Claude Monet discovered the pictorial possibilities of fog during his first stay in London in 1870 -1871. Nearly thirty years later, he returned to the British capital in 1899, 1900 and 1901 to work on extensive series devoted to Waterloo Bridge, Charing Cross Bridge and Parliament. From his room at the Savoy Hotel, he observes the bridges and the Thames; from Saint Thomas' Hospital, he looks back at Parliament. Fog, smoke industrial, steam and humidity dissolve contours, modify distances and transform the city into a field of colorful relationships. Monet does not paint gray as the absence of color. Lilacs, pinks, blues, yellows and greens cross mist depending on time and sun. He began several paintings in parallel, moved from one to the other when the effect changed, then reworked them at length in Giverny until 1903. Fog also appeared in other series. HAS Rouen, he attenuates the cathedral portal; in Vernon, he melts the church and its reflection; around the millstones or the Seine, it transforms depth into diffused light. The stable pattern makes it possible to measure the instability of perception. Faithful reproduction should retain subtle transitions, avoid harsh contours, differentiate layers of color, and maintain the architectural silhouette just present enough for the atmosphere to remain perceptible. There selection "Fog and Mists by Claude Monet" notably compares Waterloo Bridge: the sun in the fog - Claude Monet and The Parliament of London, fog effect - Claude Monet. His reading favors movement.

Monet does not paint what the fog removes from view, but everything it adds to color: distance, vibration, light and duration.