À propos de l’œuvre
Le pont de Charing Cross, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1899 · Shelburne Museum · W1521
The Charing Cross Bridge, Shelburne W1521hand painted reproduction
The bridge crosses the canvas like a blue-purple strip above a Thames covered with yellow, white and pink shards. A train can be seen by its small dark locomotives and colorful plumes, while Parliament is reduced to a blue vertical in the mist. Shelburne's version is exceptionally light and silvery.
Look at the work
The train passes through a light so dense that the bridge appears to float above the water
The deck is placed slightly above the middle. Its piers descend into the Thames in the form of blue rectangles with open contours. On the left, the first arch is darker; towards the center, the illuminated water passes between the supports and transforms the bridge into a succession of solids and voids.
The train's fumes form a discontinuous chain of purple, pink and white. Parliament appears very far away, on the right, under a pale blue silhouette barely more sustained than the sky. In the foreground, a small vertical boat and a purple-blue plant mass give weight to the shimmering light.
Monet does not paint a bridge placed in fog: he makes mist, smoke and reflections the very materials of architecture.
Composition, touch and light
What Monet builds behind the impression of snapshot
Three precise elements allow us to understand this composition and the essential difficulties of faithful reproduction.
A bridge reduced to a strip and a few piers
The apron remains almost horizontal, but its edges dissolve in smoke and light. The piles change width and value depending on the reflections surrounding them.
A train visible through smoke before the machine
The small purple masses on the bridge would be easy to grow. Their discretion is essential: it is especially the pink-white plumes which describe the movement of the convoy.
A Thames built by sparkle
The clear keys are short, tight and slightly oblique. They should not become regular points; their density varies around the piers and the central boat.
Details and visual documents
Observe the material and the exact version
The additional images show the difficult-to-read passages in the full view and, where it exists, the actual appearance of the work at the museum.
The photograph published by the Shelburne Museum measures 1,246 × 862 px. The details of 650 × 680 px and 596 × 650 px remain at their native definition, without enlargement. All three images are real WebPs.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
These facts concern this precise version and are verified from the notice of the institution which keeps it.
Shelburne 1972-69.3, Wildenstein 1521
The museum titles the work The Thames at Charing Cross Bridge, London and dates from 1899. This oil on canvas measures 25 × 35 3/8 inches, or approximately 63.5 × 89.9 cm, and belongs to the collection offered by the Electra Havemeyer Webb Fund.
A Havemeyer acquisition recommended in Mary Cassatt's circle
The Shelburne Museum recalls that the Havemeyers purchased this London view shortly after its execution, even before the major exhibition of London paintings organized in 1904. The work then joined the collection founded by their daughter Electra Havemeyer Webb.
The train and boats as signs of modernity
From 1899, Monet stayed in London for three winters and painted from the Savoy Hotel. In this version, the railway, the smoke and the river traffic are not accessories: they structure a modern vision of the Thames.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version of the Shelburne Museum, 1972-69.3 and W1521
- The original horizontal ratio of 25 × 35 3/8 inches
- The train kept small amid pink and purple smoke
- The sparkle of the Thames painted without mechanical repetition
Work sheet
| Title | The Charing Cross Bridge, Shelburne W1521 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1899 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 63.5 × 89.9 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, United States |
| Inventory | 1972-69.3 · Wildenstein 1521 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Silver blue, lavender, creamy white, pale yellow and cool pink give this reproduction a soft light. The horizontal format accompanies pearl gray, ivory or mist blue walls and is easily installed above a desk, console or sofa.
