Courtauld Gallery
Until Janaury 19th
Sold out but click here for a virtual tour
With general admission tickets no longer available to see Monet’s paintings of the Thames at the Courtauld Gallery, I decided to sign up for a years membership to be able to see it. And I’m glad I did. It’s a exhibition of 21 stunning paintings, displayed over just two rooms, mostly painted from direct observation from the Savoy Hotel just down the road.
The paintings, with titles like; ‘Waterloo Bridge, Effect of Sunlight in the Fog’, ‘The Houses of Parliament, The Effect of Fog’ and ‘Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect’, are about the effects of light over the Thames, east towards Waterloo Bridge, and west towards Charing Cross Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.
After seeing the paintings, we walked along the Thames to the Savoy. We looked towards the Houses of Parliament, into the sun (wondering if Monet’s cataracts developed as a result of looking into the sun so much), and although there was a lot less smog than in 1900, it was possible to feel that we were seeing the world as Monet did.
Nb. Memberships for the Courtauld Gallery has been temporally suspended.
