Waterloo Bridge 1903

Monet painted this Waterloo Bridge, one of a series, in the early 1900s with oil on canvas. Look at how he laid down all those marks; those blues, oranges, and pinks probably weren't there in that combination on any given day. I can imagine Monet out there, squinting and feeling the chill in the air, trying to pin down the mood of the scene rather than the exact shapes. There's something about how the strokes of color catch the light that feels so earnest and hopeful. The blues and purples of the bridge contrast with the oranges and yellows of the sky. The pinkish marks on the water are like Monet’s breath on the canvas. His work reminds me of Turner; they both seem obsessed with capturing light and atmosphere and what painting can reveal about the world. It’s an ongoing conversation, this painting thing. We artists keep bouncing ideas off each other, across time. There’s so much ambiguity here, so many ways to see it.