À propos de l’œuvre
Le pont de Waterloo, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1904 · National Gallery of Art · 1983.1.28
Waterloo Bridge at sunsethand painted reproduction
Waterloo Bridge dissolves in a harmony of aquamarine, turquoise, pink and apricot. The four pale arches cross the canvas like breathing; the city is nothing more than a group of blue verticals, and colorful reflections occupy the entire Thames.
Look at the work
The turquoise of the evening transforms the pink bridge into an architecture of light
The apron descends slightly to the right. The pale pink and apricot arches are warmer than the sky, while their blue-purple undersides give just enough weight to the structure. A few small touches on the deck suggest traffic.
The aquamarine sky and the turquoise Thames share almost the same palette, but the direction of the brush distinguishes them. The reflections become more horizontal and darker under the arches; roses and greens circulate there without mechanically reproducing the bridge.
At sunset, Monet does not paint a pink bridge under a blue sky: he passes the same colorful light through architecture, air and water.
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.
Four pink arches with subtle variations
Each aperture changes value and temperature slightly. Standardizing them would produce a mechanical repetition foreign to the atmosphere of the painting.
An aquamarine sky covered in mauves
Blues do not form a flat surface. Touches of mauve, pink and green cross the sky and maintain its misty depth.
Horizontally structured turquoise reflections
Under the bridge, the keys are longer and colder. Pink accents should remain mobile and discontinuous.
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 × 2886 px. Details of 2400 × 1200 px and 2200 × 1050 px are direct cropping of the National Gallery of Art open access file. No 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 1983.1.28 inventory of the National Gallery of Art
This 65.5 × 92.7 cm oil on canvas is dated 1904, signed lower right and listed as Wildenstein 1583.
From Monet to the Mellon collection
Durand-Ruel and Bernheim-Jeune bought the painting from the artist in December 1920. Paul and Bunny Mellon acquired it in 1960 then offered it to the National Gallery in 1983.
Waterloo Bridge, London, at Sunset
The NGA distinguishes this painting from its Waterloo Bridge at dusk, inventory 1983.1.27. The 1983.1.28 can be recognized by its apricot pink arches and its vast aquamarine sky.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The full version of the inventory 1983.1.28
- The apricot pink arches differentiated one by one
- The soft contrast between aquamarine and turquoise
- Distant buildings preserved at very low contrast
Work sheet
| Title | Waterloo Bridge at sunset |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1904 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65.5 × 92.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | National Gallery of Art, Washington, United States |
| Inventory | 1983.1.28 · Wildenstein 1583 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
The aquamarine, turquoise and pink palette brings fresh light without coldness. The horizontal format is suitable above a sofa or bed, on ivory, gray blue, sea green or powder pink walls.
