Artwork

Houses of Parliament, London

Houses of Parliament, London, by Claude Monet, oil, 1900
Houses of Parliament, London, by Claude Monet, oil, 1900

Houses of Parliament, London is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Claude Monet. It dates from 1900 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

About this work

Overview

This oil on canvas painting by Claude Monet depicts the Houses of Parliament in London during the late afternoon, capturing the soft, misty atmosphere of the scene.

Subject & Meaning

The subject is a late-afternoon view of the Houses of Parliament, emphasizing the interplay of light and mist. The composition reflects Monet's response to the poetic qualities of dusk over the Thames.

Technique & Style

Monet employed soft colors to convey the misty, late-day ambiance, characteristic of his Impressionist approach to capturing fleeting atmospheric conditions.

History & Provenance

Painted during Monet's London campaigns, the work was created from a unique vantage point: a terrace at Saint Thomas’s Hospital. This location was previously associated with J.M.W. Turner's depictions of the 1834 Parliament fire.

Context

While Monet's viewpoint echoed Turner's, his artistic inspiration for this piece came from James McNeill Whistler, a contemporary painter of Thames scenes, rather than directly from Turner's visionary style.

Legacy

This painting contributes to Monet's broader exploration of London's atmospheric effects, situating it within his Impressionist oeuvre focused on light and natural phenomena.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Claude Monet

Artist

Claude Monet

Oscar-Claude Monet was born in Paris on November 14, 1840, and raised from the age of five in Le Havre, where he began selling charcoal caricatures as a teenager.