I've been studying Claude Monet's "Railway Bridge at Argenteuil" (1873-74). I probably saw this painting when I visited the Musee d'Orsay, but I saw so many Monets I don't remember this one specifically. Today I'm fixated by this bridge painting because we're talking about allegory, and I use bridges for this all the time! In my role at work, I encourage my colleagues to build bridges to other faculty mainly to gain their perspectives but also to form alliances which can be valuable when one is assigned a big project. When we help each other, we lighten everyone's load and build a broader understanding of systems and our place in them. Monet's bridge symbolizes this for me, both in the workplace and outside of it. Build bridges to friends and neighbors, businesses and organizations, in-person or through social media to add value to life. We're standing on one shore or bank in Monet's painting, and we could figuratively jump on that steam-powered train to find out what is on the other shore. We might find assistance or encouragement for some problem that is troubling us, or we could find someone or some group with a problem with which we are equipped to help.
Monet enjoyed painting bridges as I enjoy photographing them, and he painted this bridge four times. I've chosen the one without sailboats which portrays the bridge on a gloomier day, possibly at dusk. I like this bridge for the allegory assignment because there's a hint of a train crossing the bridge (as we should) to see what is on the other side.
Claude Monet, 1873-1874
"Railway Bridge at Argenteuil"
Musée d’Orsay
ARTstor SCALA_ARCHIVES 1039779664
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