À propos de l’œuvre
Le pont de Waterloo, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1903 · the version acquired by Worcester in 1910
The Waterloo Bridge, Worcester's versionhand painted reproduction
A gray-purple bridge blocks a choppy Thames; the factories fade under a pink sky and a few orange notes still circulate on the apron: Worcester's version is darker, more compact and more urban than that of Pittsburgh.
Look at the work
A version where the bridge retains the weight of a dark silhouette
The view remains that of the Savoy Hotel, but the format is less elongated. The bridge occupies almost the entire width and stands out like a cold mass, cut by four visible arches. Boats and traffic are reduced to quick touches that cross this large dark strip.
In the foreground, the water mixes greens, grays and pinks in broken horizontal lines. On the south bank, the chimneys rise higher than in the Carnegie Museum version, but their top is lost in the fog. The large central tower becomes a vertical landmark without being drawn harshly.
This canvas makes the density of the fog felt not by a white veil added over the city, but by the progressive reduction of contrasts between the shore, the smoke and the sky.
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 heavier and closer bridge
The dark apron advances towards the viewer. The clear arches opened in this mass give the river passages of light.
A central vertical in a horizontal world
The high chimney near the center stabilizes the industrial horizon. It responds to the bridge piers without breaking the continuity of the mist.
The Thames built in strata
Water keys are mostly horizontal, but their length and temperature vary. They create current and reflect changing light.
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 proper view measures 1200 × 838 px and the detail 950 × 560 px. The third image is a real photograph of the work framed at the Worcester Art Museum, in 2200 × 1611 px. All files have been converted to WebP without enlargement.
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.
A purchase of the museum in 1910
The Worcester Art Museum purchased the work in 1910, seven years after its dating, and assigned it the inventory number 1910.37.
Nine Waterloo Bridges assembled in 2019
The exhibition Monet's Waterloo Bridge: Vision and Process brought together nine versions in Worcester to compare colors, light, atmospheric density and working methods.
The Wildenstein 1568 version
The painting is an oil on canvas measuring 65.4 × 92.9 cm. Its format and inventory allow it to be distinguished from dozens of other Waterloo Bridges.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The gray-purple mass of the bridge without losing its nuances
- Orange accents of traffic and boats
- Green, pink and blue reflections in the foreground
- The disappearance of factories in a colorful atmosphere
Work sheet
| Title | The Waterloo Bridge, Worcester's version |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1903 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65.4 × 92.9 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, United States |
| Inventory | 1910.37 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Darker than several versions of the series, this canvas provides depth and restraint. It is suitable for a light, taupe, gray green or slate blue wall, in a living room or office.
