The Japanese Bridge 1925

Claude Monet painted The Japanese Bridge with oil on canvas, and what strikes me most is how he used broken touches of color. It's like he's not just painting what he sees, but how he sees, like a mosaic of sensations. Looking closer, the surface feels alive. The paint isn't smooth; it's built up, dabbed, and dragged, creating this incredible texture. There’s this one spot, right at the edge of the water near the bridge, where the paint is thick, almost sculptural. It catches the light differently, making it seem like the water is actually shimmering. It's not just about the color, but the way the paint sits on the canvas, almost as if he’s building the image rather than just depicting it. You can see the influence of Turner in these later Monets. And like all great art, it’s not just one thing. It’s this ever-evolving conversation across time, where artists borrow, react, and push each other to see the world in new ways.