Seagulls, the River Thames and the Houses of Parliament

Painted during Monet's London campaign of 1899–1905, this canvas from the Pushkin Museum shows the Houses of Parliament through a veil of seagulls wheeling over the Thames — a subject Monet returned to repeatedly as he recorded the atmospheric conditions of the English capital. The addition of birds in motion creates an animated foreground contrasting with the spectral, fog-bound architecture behind. The series represents Monet's most radical exploration of atmosphere as subject matter in its own right, anticipating by decades the kind of pure colour-field work it foreshadows.

Monet layers broken strokes of violet, pink, and gold to render the Thames atmosphere, with the Parliament building barely materialising from the mist. The seagulls are suggested with quick, confident marks that animate the foreground without disturbing the overall atmospheric unity.