À propos de l’œuvre
Waterloo Bridge, soleil voilé, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1899 -1903 · private collection · W1591
Waterloo Bridge, veiled sun W1591hand painted reproduction
The bridge crosses the mist in a long lilac pink band, punctuated by small yellow glows. Smoke rises behind him and two red sails slide over the Thames. Signed and dated lower left, this 65.4 × 100 cm canvas is Wildenstein 1591.
Look at the work
The Waterloo Bridge suspended between industrial fog and pink light
The arches occupy the middle axis and gradually disappear into the mist. Above, the chimneys of the south bank are nothing more than gray verticals. Below, the large surface of the Thames lets the composition breathe and gives the red sails their visibility.
Monet unifies the sky, stone and water with very light lilacs, then places a chain of yellows and oranges on the bridge which suggests circulation. The shapes are not blurred due to lack of precision: they are deliberately dissolved by the atmosphere.
In W1591, the city can be read by colored intensities: a few yellow lights and two red sails are enough to keep all the fog alive.
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 1591 version
Christie's documents a 65.4 × 100 cm oil on canvas begun in London between 1899 and 1901, completed and signed "Claude Monet 1903" lower left.
Work continued in Giverny
From the Savoy Hotel, Monet moves from one canvas to another depending on the light. He then reported the studies in France and reworked the whole until the 1904 exhibition at Durand-Ruel.
The former Paul G. Allen Collection
After a provenance dating back to Durand-Ruel then Paul Cassirer, the painting entered the Paul G. Allen collection and was sold at Christie's in New York in November 2022.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one image is used: the exact view of W1591 published by Christie's, converted into a real WebP of 2200 × 1410 px without artificial enlargement.
An almost continuous bridge line
The arches must remain perceptible without becoming a harsh architectural design. Their flexible repetition gives the length of the bridge and the thickness of the mist.
Lilac, powder pink and orange chips
The dominant palette is very clear. The little yellow touches of the apron and the red sails have all the more strength as they remain rare.
Vertical fumes in a horizontal material
Chimneys and plumes rise across the sky, while the Thames is built in side bands. This opposition animates the surface without breaking its calm.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Christie's notice fixes the data for this version: 65.4 × 100 cm, painted between 1899 and 1903, signed and dated lower left, Wildenstein 1591.
Waterloo Bridge, veiled sun, W1591
The two red sails, the lights aligned on the bridge and the vast lilac fog precisely distinguish this canvas from the forty other states of the motif.
Durand-Ruel Gallery, Paris, 1904
Monet selected this work for the historic Vues de la Thames presentation in London, where thirty-seven London landscapes are shown together.
From Durand-Ruel to Paul G. Allen
The documented route passes through Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Princeton before entering the American collection sold in 2022.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact Wildenstein 1591 version
- The original panoramic format of 65.4 × 100 cm
- The pink arches kept in the lilac fog
- The little yellow lights and the two red sails
Work sheet
| Title | Waterloo Bridge, veiled sun W1591 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1899 - 1903 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65.4 × 100 cm |
| Orientation | Panoramic horizontal |
| Conservation | Private collection, former Paul G. Allen collection |
| Inventory | Wildenstein 1591 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Its misty roses and lilac grays light up a contemporary living room, bedroom or office. Light oak, off-white and some brick accents accompany the canvas without competing with its orange touches.
