Waterloo Bridge 1901

Monet painted this atmospheric view of Waterloo Bridge in London using oil on canvas. What I love about Monet is his approach to art-making as an ongoing process of observation and reaction. He wasn't trying to create an illusion. Instead, he was revealing the way light and atmosphere dissolve solid forms into fleeting impressions. The surface is alive with visible brushstrokes, each one a record of his engagement with the scene. Look at the lower part of the canvas, you can see individual marks dancing together to describe the surface of the water. There is a sense of movement and vibration, a feeling that everything is constantly shifting and changing, and it reminds me of Turner. And of course it has that quality we expect from Monet: not just a picture, but a whole world.