Monet, Claude (1840-1926)
Le pont à Argenteuil un jour gris (Bridge at Argenteuil on a Gray Day)
c.1876
Oil on canvas, 61 x 80.3 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
We look across a glimmering river toward docks, about a dozen small boats, and a mustard-brown, boxy building under a bridge that crosses the width of the canvas in this horizontal landscape painting. A patch of green grass lines the riverbank in the lower right corner of the canvas. The land curves away out of sight, and then back into the scene below the abutment of the bridge along the right side of the painting. From the ivory-colored abutment, the straight deck of the bridge is supported by two shallow, iron-gray arches, and the bridge extends off the left side of the composition. Dots of red and gray on the bridge suggest vehicles or pedestrians. The river below is painted with blended strokes of silvery gray, icy blue, and pale lavender purple around the low-sided sailboats. One turquoise-colored houseboat is pulled up to the riverbank to our right. The long, rectangular, flat-topped building is pierced with two stories of windows, which are outlined in spruce green against the golden yellow. The horizon line runs just below the bridge deck, just under halfway up the composition. The sky above is painted with longer swipes of cream white and smoke gray. Loose, short brushstrokes are visible throughout, especially in the water, boats, and bridge. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “Claude Monet.” (NGA)
See also:
• Argenteuil (France)