The Houses of Parliament, Sunset by Monet: London Dissolved in Light (1903)
The Gothic towers of Westminster do not stand so much as dissolve. Claude Monet's The Houses of Parliament, Sunset (1903) turns London's most solid civic silhouette into violet mist over the Thames. Spikes of architecture blur into atmosphere; the river below breaks into short strokes of pink, orange, and blue. This is not a postcard of Big Ben. It is weather made of paint. Quick facts Artist: Claude Monet (1840-1926) Date: 1903 Medium: Oil on canvas (32 x 36 7/16 in / 81.3 x 92.5 cm) Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (Chester Dale Collection) Notable fact: Part of Monet's London Parliament series, painted from the terrace of St Thomas' Hospital across the Thames; signed lower right "Claude Monet 1903" Claude Monet, The Houses of Parliament, Sunset , 1903. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. A Landmark Without Hard Edges Victoria Tower rises as the strongest vertical m...