Charing Cross Bridge 1903

Claude Monet made this painting of Charing Cross Bridge with oil on canvas, probably en plein air, in 1903. You can almost feel the cold air and dampness of the scene, and the way the light struggles to break through the fog! I really get a sense of Monet grappling with the atmosphere. He's trying to capture something ephemeral. There's a real push and pull, a back-and-forth between observation and interpretation, with strokes of blues, violets, and grays. It's like he's wrestling with the fog itself! I imagine Monet, squinting at the scene, mixing his paints, trying to find the right balance, the right touch, to convey what he’s seeing and feeling. Monet's series of paintings showing the bridge reminds me of the work of other painters like Turner, who were also fascinated by light and atmosphere. What an artistic lineage! Painting continues to evolve and challenge our perceptions, sparking conversations across centuries.