Houses of Parliament, London - Claude Monet (1900–1904)

London Claude Monet

Oil on canvas

National Gallery of Art

This painting belongs to Claude Monet's celebrated series depicting the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British Parliament, viewed across the River Thames from the terrace of Saint Thomas's Hospital. Monet worked on the series during visits to London between 1899 and 1901, later refining the canvases in his studio at Giverny, France, pursuing his signature Impressionist interest in transient effects of light, atmosphere, and weather. The true subject of these paintings is not architecture per se but the ever-changing fog, mist, and luminosity that dissolve the Gothic silhouette of the building into shimmering washes of color — sky and water unified in tones of mauve, orange, and blue. As one of the foremost figures of French Impressionism, Monet used the London fog series to push his serial method to its most atmospheric extreme, subordinating solid form entirely to the sensory experience of light and air.