Claude Monet's bridge at Giverny

¶ … art masterpiece "Bridge at Giverny" by Claude Monet

Claude Monet's "The Bridge at Giverny" is a study in cool colors. The bright, icy blue of the bridge creates a curving, half-moon image over the muted greens and pale cream colors of the water. The bridge is interlaced with railings that give an impression of symmetry to its oval, overreaching quality.

Although the central blue of the bridge is likely the area of the painting to which the viewer's eye is first directed, the interlocking, lattice-like texture of the water lilies across the reflecting green surface below gives additional texture to the painting. The crisscrossing of the interlocking images of the flowers is a contrast with the linear, curving lines of the bridge. The natural shades of the water, the artificial blue of the bridge, and the occasional warm, colorful peep of yellow of the flowers make a simple study of bridge and water highly complex to the eye.

In the foreground of the water, a bit of the reflected bridge is visible. In the background, the green, spiky frond-like flowers, which have yellow blossoms like the water lilies of the 'ground' or surface of the painting stand out. The pinpoints of yellow are particularly striking, given their contrast with the other colors of the painting. Some warmth is evident in the colors of the green, a salmon-like pink, but for the most part the colors relax rather than assault the viewer.

19th century Impressionism began, partly as a response to Neo-Classicism and the realism of photography, as a way of justifying the existence of painted art. Impressionism conveys the impression of the artist, and is a depiction of the artist's inner life and thoughts, it does not aim to provide a realistic view of the painting's subject. Monet intended to convey a moment in time, not a literal depiction of the bridge or the water. The bridge is clearly located in the 'eye' of the painter, at a particular point of day, as the bridge's reflection in the water would shift and change over the course of the morning or afternoon, depending on the amount of sunlight that filtered through the trees. The painter's choice of a pictorial vantage point creates the apparent symmetry of the bridge and the woven flower garlands. The point of the painting is not that such symmetry literally exists in nature, but that in the impression of the painter, such symmetry was evident to his eyes, at a particular moment in time and in his life.

This painting would be especially useful to teach young children how to create meaningful pictures out of common, every day images. The teacher could point out to the students that the painting is of Monet's garden, something that he saw everyday, and painted many times. Monet painted many paintings water lilies, but every picture was different, because the French artist brought a different perspective to the work of art, during different times of his life.