À propos de l’œuvre
Le pont de Waterloo, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1900 · Santa Barbara · W1555
Waterloo Bridge W1555hand painted reproduction
Waterloo Bridge passes through a blue-green light where the chimneys and the south bank become silhouettes. In the foreground, two small boats stand out in an area of golden reflections. This 65.4 × 92.7 cm oil on canvas is kept in Santa Barbara under number 1968.20.7.
Look at the work
A morning light dissolves the bridge in the Thames
The bridge occupies the upper half of the composition and leaves plenty of room for the river. Its arches are darker than the sky, but their outline is lost in the mist. Three vertical chimneys and an industrial building on the right provide a discreet framework in the background.
The brightest area is not the sky: it sparkles on the water, in front of the bridge, in small touches of cream, yellow and pink. Two dark boats pass through this reflection. Their tiny presence makes you feel the expanse of the Thames and the height of the viewpoint.
In W1555, the bridge is not the bright center: it retains the mist while the sun shines on the river.
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.
The Wildenstein 1555 version
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art documents this painting under number 1968.20.7: oil on canvas from 1900, 65.4 × 92.7 cm, listed Wildenstein 1555.
A morning view from the Savoy
The museum notice describes the factory fumes made opalescent by the morning fog. Monet watches the bridge downstream from his room at the Savoy Hotel.
Architecture and abstraction
The bridge remains recognizable, but the stone, water, smoke and sky share the same greens, blues and purples. This continuity announces the growing abstraction of late works.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one image is used: the official IIIF scan of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, converted into a real WebP of 1,481 × 1,050 px at its native resolution.
A bridge placed high in the frame
The large area of water must be preserved. Going down or enlarging the bridge would remove the space needed for boats and the light reflection in the foreground.
A golden shine in a cold range
The yellows and roses remain concentrated on the Thames. They should shine without turning the whole scene into a sunset.
Permeable industrial silhouettes
Chimneys are just muffled verticals. Their edges mix with the sky so that the smoke and architecture belong to the same atmosphere.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The official notice fixes the data for this version: 1900, oil on canvas, 65.4 × 92.7 cm, Santa Barbara Museum of Art 1968.20.7 and Wildenstein 1555.
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1968.20.7
The painting entered the museum through the bequest of Katharine Dexter McCormick, in memory of her husband Stanley McCormick.
Factory smoke and morning fog
Monet precisely chooses the effects where natural and industrial phenomena mingle, to the point of making the bridge almost immaterial.
Waterloo Bridge, W1555
The 65.4 × 92.7 cm format, the two boats in the reflection and the dark building on the right distinguish this version from the more panoramic Waterloo Bridges.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version of Santa Barbara 1968.20.7 and Wildenstein 1555
- The original format of 65.4 × 92.7 cm
- Golden light concentrated on water
- Canoes and fireplaces readable without hard contours
Work sheet
| Title | Waterloo Bridge W1555 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1900 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65.4 × 92.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, United States |
| Inventory | 1968.20.7 · Wildenstein 1555 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Smoky greens, blues and cream highlights work well in a contemporary living room, office or bedroom. Medium wood, warm gray and a few touches of brass take back the light without weighing down the fog.
