Thames Below Westminster (Westminster Bridge), Claude Monet 1871




Good morning!  After a week of watching the Olympics and thinking about all things English, I thought this beautiful painting by Impressionist painter Claude Monet would be a lovely way to start our week.  I hope you had a restful weekend with time to relax and play, and that your Monday starts off on a pleasant note!  Not only painters loved London's Westminster Bridge--here is how William Wordsworth described it in words instead of paint.

Westminster Bridge

September 3, 1802

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, 

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock or hill,

Ne'er saw I, never felt,a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Do you have a favorite painter?  I'd love to hear from you!  Until tomorrow, have a day as lovely as the picture above!