Charing Cross Bridge, The Thames 02 1903

Claude Monet painted this view of Charing Cross Bridge and the River Thames with oil on canvas in 1903. Look at how the surface is built up from many little marks, a flickering dance between light and atmosphere. I imagine Monet standing on the bank of the Thames, squinting through the London fog, trying to capture the ephemeral effects of light. The air itself seems to be made of paint. See how the colors blend and blur? What must it have been like to be Monet, struggling to pin down something so fleeting and intangible? He was part of a generation of painters like Turner and Whistler who were inspired by the industrial era. His series of paintings of the Thames are a study of light, color, and atmosphere that also suggests an ongoing conversation between artists across time. Painting offers us a way to see the world anew, embracing its ambiguity.