Le Parlement, soleil couchant 1900 - 1903

Here's a little something about Monet's 'Le Parlement, soleil couchant', made with oil paint. Looking at this painting, I imagine Monet in front of the canvas, trying to catch the light as it slips away, mixing those hazy blues and pinks, and building up the forms with layers of tiny brushstrokes. The texture of the paint is smooth, almost like a soft mist, right? And the way the colors blend, it's like he’s conjuring a dream rather than painting a building. I'm sure he must have been looking at Turner, who was also interested in the qualities of light, but where Turner is dramatic, Monet is intimate. The way he captures the sunset feels personal, like he's sharing a secret moment. The painting style, the mark-making, makes the building almost disappear in plain sight. That’s how he turns the familiar into something new. Painters are always talking to each other, across time, across styles. Each brushstroke is a response to what came before, a question for what comes next.