> Monet was captivated by London’s fog during his first stay in the capital from 1870 to 1871. Later in life he told the art dealer Rene Gimpel: ‘Without the fog, London would not be a beautiful city. It’s the fog that gives it its magnificent breadth.’ This misty composition is anchored by carefully positioned horizontal and vertical structures – the jetty in the foreground, Westminster Bridge marking the horizon, and the Houses of Parliament. Every architectural element in the picture was new at the time. The Houses of Parliament had only just been finished, as had the Victoria Embankment on the right. St Thomas’ Hospital, the low rectangular shape on the far left, was also nearing completion before opening in the summer of 1871, and Westminster Bridge had been reconstructed in 1862.
The original is on display in the National Gallery.
Really caught my eye, might get a print.
Really interesting that this view was relatively “new” at the time… like painting a picture of the new skyscrapers in the City.
Palace of Westminster having only been finished in 1871
tbh paintings like this really make me really want smoggy london, it would have been so beautiful and atmospheric to see it with black smog and with street lights shining through, just like a batman movie
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> Monet was captivated by London’s fog during his first stay in the capital from 1870 to 1871. Later in life he told the art dealer Rene Gimpel: ‘Without the fog, London would not be a beautiful city. It’s the fog that gives it its magnificent breadth.’ This misty composition is anchored by carefully positioned horizontal and vertical structures – the jetty in the foreground, Westminster Bridge marking the horizon, and the Houses of Parliament. Every architectural element in the picture was new at the time. The Houses of Parliament had only just been finished, as had the Victoria Embankment on the right. St Thomas’ Hospital, the low rectangular shape on the far left, was also nearing completion before opening in the summer of 1871, and Westminster Bridge had been reconstructed in 1862.
The original is on display in the National Gallery.
Really caught my eye, might get a print.
Really interesting that this view was relatively “new” at the time… like painting a picture of the new skyscrapers in the City.
Palace of Westminster having only been finished in 1871
tbh paintings like this really make me really want smoggy london, it would have been so beautiful and atmospheric to see it with black smog and with street lights shining through, just like a batman movie
Great photo
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