The effects of light depicted by Claude Monet are in many cases breathtaking. Some of these effects were only apparent for a few minutes every day and required Monet to return and observe and paint it at that time. Others were less difficult to find and thus to paint. In general, the series paintings of Monet, like his depictions of Parlaiment in London and Haystacks in France, were more extreme in the lighting conditions displayed than the Water Lily paintings. These last were in turn more subtle.
One of the most magnificent depictions of lighting effects by Monet can be found in the painting Charing Cross Bridge. Painted by Monet in 1899, it depicts this bridge under very special lighting conditions. It is an early, foggy morning with mist rising from the river. The combination of the early morning light with the misty and foggy conditions allows for a very special light that gets reflected in the water particles in the air. The result is a fairly low visibility combined with a bluish light that dominates wherever you look.
As the day wore on, the heat of the sun would of course clear up this particular sight and scene, but at this time in the morning, probably only for a very short time, the landscape seen from the point of Monet was bluish in color and a fantastic sight. It was one of the great gifts of Monet that he was not only able to recognize such beauty but also able to depict it with such accuracy.
Claude Monet Reproductions are available and Charing Cross Bridge can today been seen at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, Spain.
