The Bridge over the Water Lily Pond 1905

Claude Monet

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Keywords: BridgeWaterLilyPond

Work Overview

The Japanese Bridge (The Bridge over the Water-Lily Pond)
Claude Monet
Date: 1905
Style: Impressionism
Series: The Japanese Bridge
Genre: landscape


The title Water Lilies refers to a series by the father of French Impressionism. Over the course of the series, Monet painted countless individual water lilies in around 250 oil paintings. 


The beauty of the French village Giverny struck Monet when he passed through on a train. The artist was so inspired that in 1883 he rented a house there; it would become his home in 1890 (which was as soon as he could afford it). 


When he wasn't painting the plant life on his property, Monet was remodeling its landscapes and gardens to better inspire his work, or as he put it, “I’m good for nothing except painting and gardening.” Basically, he created the perfect place for quiet reflection, then spent the rest of his days capturing it in oils.


The ambitious painter imported water lilies for his Giverny garden from Egypt and South America, which drew the ire of local authorities. The council demanded he uproot the plants before they poisoned the area's water, but (thankfully) Monet ignored them.