Houses of Parliament, Effect of Sunlight in the Fog 1904

This is Claude Monet's 'Houses of Parliament, Effect of Sunlight in the Fog,’ and I like to imagine him out there in the freezing cold painting the scene, over and over. Just think about it; the image emerging through trial, error, and intuition. The blue-purple haze of the buildings contrasting with the sun, rendered in strokes of peach and orange. I sympathize with Monet, he paints these architectural monuments as if they are mirages, dematerializing these once solid forms in veils of color. The foggy atmosphere allows for a play of light and shadow, that must have been so interesting for him. It reminds me of how much paintings are an ongoing conversation, artists in dialogue across time, inspiring one another's creativity. And how painting can embrace ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations, and always open to revision.