What happened
Derain painted Charing Cross Bridge using imaginative color to transform London’s gray reputation.
UNDERSTAND
Charing Cross Bridge
Digital image: The Museum of Modern Art · Museum image · see source usage terms · license should be confirmed before use · View source ↗
Why it is painted this way
Bridge and banks form a steady scaffold for the moving marks of the river.
The light you just noticed
Light also arises from the visual vibration of orange beside blue.
What color is doing
Separated warm and cool marks make the water resemble rhythmic woven color.
Where it comes from
After painting with Matisse in Collioure, Derain brought the Fauvist palette to London.
Why it is remembered
A recognizable city need not retain its literal colors; sensation can guide its depiction.
What did it leave with you?
Where next · WHERE TO
Keep wandering
01
Stay nearby · Fauvism
Open Window, Collioure
Henri Matisse · 1905
Return to the harbor where this palette developed
02
Go farther · water
Saint-Tropez: The Red Buoy
Paul Signac · 1895
Compare how colored marks illuminate water
03
Change direction · London
Rain, Steam and Speed
J. M. W. Turner · 1844
Let urban light dissolve into mist