Charing Cross Bridge, London 1901

Claude Monet painted this ‘Charing Cross Bridge, London’ with oil on canvas, and here it is at The Art Institute of Chicago. Look at how Monet applied the paint; it's like he's building up a hazy atmosphere, not just depicting a scene. The surface is a dance of blues, yellows, and soft pinks, all blended to give this dreamlike quality. It’s so muted, you can almost feel the damp air. See those strokes of yellow at the top right? They pull the eye up and hint at a light source, but everything remains soft, almost dissolving into the mist. It's like Monet is in conversation with Turner, both obsessed with capturing light and atmosphere, but Monet does it with this incredible sensitivity to color. It's not just about what you see, but how it feels to be there, in that moment.