$35 million! Monet's epoch-making masterpiece "Waterloo Bridge in the Mist" was filmed in May

Nandu reporter learned that Claude Monet, one of the most important French painters, representatives of Impressionism and one of the founders, created an important work "Waterloo Bridge in the Mist" from 1899 to 1903, which will be unveiled at Christie's in New York in May this year as the leading work of the new twentieth century art evening auction, with an estimated value of about $35 million. This rare masterpiece, from Monet's famous "Waterloo Bridge" series, showcases his mastery of capturing the ethereal light and shadow effects of the River Thames. This series of works saw his style mature in the early 1900s and gradually shift to what we now call the avant-garde style of twentieth-century art.

Monet's Waterloo Bridge in the Mist.

One of the most important "London Landscapes" series

Waterloo Bridge in the Mist is one of Monet's most important "London Landscapes" series, where he expresses his love for London with his virtuosity. He began the collection in London in 1899 and remains one of his most outstanding masterpieces today. In Monet's pen, the misty skies of London and the years turn into ethereal, timeless modern cityscapes. The ambitious London collection, with the "Waterloo Bridge" series being the largest, is known for its creative, poetic and avant-garde style. Waterloo Bridge in the Mist is the best of the Waterloo Bridge series to be featured on the auction market over the past decade or so. Jussi Pylkkanen, President of Christie's Worldwide, said: "Monet's 'London Series' saw his style mature in the early 1900s and gradually shift to what we now call the avant-garde style of twentieth-century art. These works bear witness to Monet as a master of harmonious colour and the ability to bring great ambitions to the canvas. He spent much time in the studio, using carefully mixed pigments to create delicate layers to complete this harmonious and pleasing work. His painting skills are better than ever. The 'Bridges of Waterloo' series showcases the artist's outstanding and abstract use of paints and can touch the deep emotions of the viewer, marking the beginning of the era of non-figurative painting. Other masterpieces in the series are now in the world's major museums, including the Gallery of Modern Art in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The works in this auction were comparable to the rest of the series, and monet was also carefully selected to be one of the 18 Waterloo Bridge paintings in the landmark exhibition "Claude Monet: Vues de la Tamiseà Londres" held in the landmark exhibition "Claude Monet: Vues de la Tamiseà Londres" in 1904. For the exhibition, art critic Georges Lecomte said monet had never "shown such ethereal and delicate pictures, or the power of abstraction and convergence".

"The invisible is embodied through oil paints and canvases"

In Waterloo Bridge in the Mist, Monet depicts a magnificent view of the east through the balcony of his luxurious Hotel Savoy room. A stone bridge spans the vast River Thames and extends to the south bank of the factories in the distance. The whole picture is shrouded in an ethereal thick fog, illuminated by the invisible sun, and the sunlight hidden in the fog transforms the whole city into a rainbow of blue and pink light. In his work, Monet uses brushes and paints to cast magic, capturing the misty atmosphere and fantastic light through the subtlest vibrations and brushstrokes. He tried to portray the impression of the landscape in front of him, turning the fleeting landscapes of London's industrial areas into mysterious and contemplative pictures, transcending the constraints of time and space. Octave Mirbeau writes: "It is a miracle that the invisible is embodied through oil paints and canvases, placing the sun at his own mercy, almost a paradox of contradiction... Such a spectacular and wonderful light penetrates from the sky. But this is not a miracle, nor is it a paradox: it is a deliberate work of art by Claude Monet. "Claude Monet: Vues de la Tamise à Londres" exhibition catalogue, Gallery Durand Ruel, Paris, 1904, p. 8)

Bought in early 1905 by the innovative and avant-garde Pritz Medal-winning poet Amy Lowell, Waterloo Bridge in the Mist became one of the first London paintings to be included in the American collection. The work was treasured by the Lowell family for generations until 1978, and was exhibited in a retrospective exhibition held for him by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, a year after Monet's death in 1927.