Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies

In 1893, Monet purchased land with a pond near his property in Giverny, and he built here his water lily garden with a Japanese bridge spanning the pond at its narrowest point. In 1899, he began a series of eighteen views of the wooden footbridge over the pond, completing twelve paintings, including the present one, that summer. The vertical format of the picture, unusual in this series, gives prominence to the water lilies and their reflections on the pond.