If you’ve always wanted to get your hands on a Claude Monet painting, here’s your chance to do so! The artist’s iconic rendition of Waterloo Bridge will soon go under the hammer for a whopping $30.2 million approximately. Yes, that’s right!
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet's 'Waterloo Bridge, effet de brouillard' from the artist's landmark series of London views achieves $48,450,000 pic.twitter.com/xdEgAyxatl
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) May 13, 2021
The masterpiece was last seen at auction in 1939 and has been in the same family collection since it was acquired by Arde Bulova, Chairman of the Bulova Watch Company, in 1951. It forms a part of the 41 iconic paintings of Waterloo Bridge that Monet painted between 1899-1904.
Of them, 26 paintings belong to public institutions, including The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; Bührle Foundation, Zürich; Art Institute of Chicago; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. and Kunstmuseum Bern, with only a select few known to be in the hands of private collectors.
Featuring the play of early morning sunlight from the East with strokes of yellow in a misty haze, the Waterloo Bridge, effet de brume is a sight to behold. As Christie’s puts it, the painting ‘captures London’s enduring influence and position as a global cultural center and shows the dialogue between London and Paris in the art historical canon.’
Commenting on it, Keith Gill, the head of impressionist and modern art at Christie’s in London, which is selling the work, said, “The light or the weather changes, or the fog lifts, and it might be a week before that effect reappears. When it does, he finds the right canvas and starts working on it again, refining it and refining it.”
He further added, “The London series pictures are probably some of the most iconic views he painted. There is a considerable cachet around them. Monet couldn’t find this changing light and atmosphere anywhere else in the world. He’s painted in the south of France; he’s painted on the Normandy coast. But it’s in London where he reaches the apex of his impressionist talent.”
Remarking similarly, Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President, Christie’s, added, “London’s Waterloo Bridge is an inspirational subject which led to a celebrated series of paintings, the majority of which grace the walls of the great museums of the world. This example, which has been on long-term loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel, is distinctive for its fabulous morning light effect as the sun rises. It is a poetic masterpiece which will capture the imagination of the world’s collectors when it goes on view here in London on June 22.”
The Waterloo Bridge, effet de brume, will be auctioned on June 28 at Christie’s London.
[Via: The Guardian]
