Parliament, Reflections on the Thames

Claude Monet completed this view of the Houses of Parliament from his window at St Thomas' Hospital, looking across the Thames toward Westminster. The Gothic architecture appears ghostly, its stone seeming to lose substance in the famous London fog. Sky and water merge in the same mauve and orange tones, while the building dissolves into shadow.

Monet worked on his Thames series during stays in London in autumn 1899 and early 1900-1901. He began the first Parliament painting on February 13, 1900, around 3:45 in the afternoon. The series captures variations in light and atmosphere, with the fog transforming the familiar landmarks into impressions of color and light. Brushstrokes fragment into thousands of colored patches to render the density of mist and air.

By this point in his career, Monet had abandoned finishing paintings on the spot. He continued refining the London views back in Giverny, even requesting photographs to help with details. In 1904, he exhibited 37 Thames paintings at Durand-Ruel's gallery in Paris. The Musée d'Orsay holds this canvas, which measures 81 by 92 centimeters. A 2024 exhibition at London's Courtauld Gallery finally reunited many of these works, 120 years after their Paris debut.