Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect 1903

In this painting by Claude Monet, you can see the Waterloo Bridge emerging from a haze of blues, pinks, and grays. Think of Monet standing there, day after day, trying to capture this one view. I’m imagining him layering paint, one stroke at a time, trying to pin down the feeling of the light. The paint is laid on pretty thin, like he’s chasing after a ghost, the ghost of a feeling he has. The bridge itself almost disappears, dissolved in the light. It is more about capturing a fleeting moment, the ephemeral effects of light and atmosphere. You can see all the little brushstrokes he’s made to arrive at that feeling. Monet’s really talking to painters like Turner and Whistler here, folks obsessed with atmosphere. And in turn, he’s inspired countless painters ever since. It’s like one big conversation, across time, all of us trying to figure out what it means to see, and to feel.