À propos de l’œuvre
Le Pont de Waterloo, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1904 · National Gallery of Art · 1983.1.27
Waterloo Bridge, at duskhand painted reproduction
In this full version of Waterloo Bridge at dusk, the turquoise Thames takes up almost half of the canvas. The purple bridge is cut out in a pink mist; orange lights run over the deck and the chimneys fade behind the atmosphere.
Look at the work
The pink of the evening and the turquoise of the water transform the bridge into a strip of light
The bridge extends from edge to edge slightly above the center. Its regular arches are never traced by a single line: they arise from gaps between purple, blue and pink. The small orange touches of the apron evoke circulation and concentrate the light without interrupting the foggy continuity.
The Thames is colder than the sky. Its blues and turquoise darken under the arches, then warm with pink and yellow reflections. In the background, chimneys and industrial buildings are reduced to transparent verticals; their weakness gives all its depth to the scene.
At dusk, Monet separates neither architecture nor water from the atmosphere: each shape remains present, but none can be extracted from the colored mist.
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.
An apron animated by orange touches
Warm accents are small and discontinuous. Their intensity must be preserved without transforming them into detailed vehicles or a uniform light line.
Purple arches open to the water
Each opening varies slightly in value and temperature. These differences avoid mechanical repetition and circulate the mist all the way under the bridge.
A horizontally structured turquoise Thames
The touches of the water are longer and more horizontal than those of the sky. The roses remain occasional reflections, while the turquoise maintains the contrast of twilight.
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 full official view measures 4096 × 2630 px. Details of 2400 × 1200 px and 2200 × 1050 px are direct cropping of the National Gallery of Art file. No artificial enlargements were applied; all three files 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.
The 1983.1.27 inventory of the National Gallery of Art
This 65.7 × 101.6 cm oil on canvas is dated 1904 and listed as Wildenstein 1564. Monet signs lower right.
A worked view from the Savoy Hotel
Monet observes Waterloo Bridge and the south bank of the River Thames from his rooms at the Savoy. The studies begun in London were then taken up together in his workshop in Giverny.
From the artist to the Mellon collection
Durand-Ruel and Bernheim-Jeune bought the painting from Monet in December 1920. After Sam Salz, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon acquired it in 1960 then offered it to the National Gallery in 1983.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The complete version and its horizontal framing of 101.6 cm
- Small, discontinuous orange lights on the apron
- The contrast between pink sky and turquoise Thames
- The varied arches without mechanical outline or too clear outline
Work sheet
| Title | Waterloo Bridge, at dusk |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1904 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65.7 × 101.6 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | National Gallery of Art, Washington, United States |
| Inventory | 1983.1.27 · Wildenstein 1564 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Misty pink, turquoise and purple give this reproduction a calm but very present light. Its horizontal format is suitable above a sofa, sideboard or bed, on off-white, blue-gray, taupe or old pink walls.
