The Palace of Westminster (1906-1907)

Derain, André (1880-1954)

The Palace of Westminster
19061907
Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 99.1 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

In 1905 and 1906, Derain traveled to London at the suggestion of the art dealer Ambroise Vollard to paint the Houses of Parliament and the Thames, in changing light. As Derain later recalled, these canvases were inspired by Claude Monet’s own views of London,
which were painted only a few years earlier and which had “made a very strong impression on Paris.” The long, broken brushstrokes and bright bold colors of the present canvas signal the influence of the Neo-Impressionists Paul Signac and Henri-Edmond Cross,
as well as that of Henri Matisse, with whom Derain spent the summer of 1905 in the south of France. (MET)

See also:

• Palace of Westminster (London)