Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge is a celebrated drawing by Claude Monet, created in 1901. This exceptional study, executed in pastel on blue wove paper, stems from the artist’s prolific trips to London between 1899 and 1901, where he undertook his famous series documenting the atmospheric conditions over the River Thames. While Monet is primarily recognized as a leader of the French Impressionist movement in painting, this work demonstrates his mastery of the drawing medium and his rigorous analytical approach to his subject matter.

The choice of medium was deliberate; the use of pastel allowed Monet to swiftly capture the ephemeral effects of fog and diffused sunlight. The blue wove paper provides a resonant, mid-tone ground against which the colors shimmer, emphasizing the luminosity and rapid shifts in light and shadow. Classified formally as a Drawing, the piece focuses on the industrial architecture of the bridge structure as it dissolves into the thick, defining London haze. The delicate, broken strokes and intense application of color are hallmarks of Monet’s technique during this period.

This piece belongs to the French cultural period spanning 1901 to 1925, representing the artist's continued evolution toward abstraction through color and light. Monet’s fascination with capturing modernity and pollution as elements of natural beauty is evident here, transforming the urban landscape into a scene of profound poetry. The work serves as a critical link between the immediate observations made on-site and the finished oil canvases developed back in his Giverny studio. This important study is housed in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art. Because of its place in the history of modern art, high-quality images and prints of this key study are frequently available through museum collections and public domain initiatives.