Claude Monet. Seagulls. River Thames in London. House of Parliament. 1903–1904.

The central compositional element of the painting is the Palace of Westminster in London, home to the British Parliament. The building has a rich history. Originally a royal residence, it maintained this status until 1512, when a fire destroyed the king’s chambers. However, the first parliamentary sessions had been held there as early as 1265, "next door" to the monarch.  

Although the Palace of Westminster remains the Crown property, the monarch is barred from entering the House of Commons. This legal custom became entrenched in English parliamentary practice in 1629, when tensions between the King and Parliament led to the dissolution of the House of Commons, the English Civil War, and the execution of King Charles I.  

The last monarch to enter the House of Commons was King Charles I himself. During his final visit, he  sought to arrest several Members of Parliament. But when he entered the chamber with his guards, he discovered that these members had already been warned and escaped.  The King famously remarked, "I see the birds have flown."  

A distinctive feature of this painting by Claude Monet is the abundance of seagulls in the foreground.  

British parliamentary legislation has long paid special attention to protecting these iconic London birds and their habitats. Wild seabirds, in particular, enjoyed a privileged legal status compared to other birds: at the time this painting was created, the Sea Birds Preservation Act 1869  was in force, prohibiting hunting, nest destruction, and egg collection.  

British lawmakers have historically established legal protections for wildlife. One notable example is the customary royal prerogative over swans, dating back to the reign of Edgar the Peaceable (943–975). To this day, the British monarch retains the title "Seigneur of the Swans." Beyond swans, the Crown also claims ownership of various marine creatures. A 1322 decree by King Edward II declared that all dolphins, whales, and sturgeons swimming within five meters of Britain’s shores were Crown property. Seagulls and other wild birds and animals finally received comprehensive protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.  

Britain also grants special legal status to the so-called "gentleman’s game," including pheasants, partridges, and grouse. Certain laws even prohibit using greyhounds to hunt or kill these "noble" game birds.  

Monet’s painting captures the fog and smog that plagued London, partly due to factory emissions and coal-burning household chimneys. At the time, London suffered from severe smog caused by the Industrial Revolution and rampant air pollution. This prompted lawmakers to pass several acts aimed at combating the issue. Notably, the Act to amend the Smoke Nuisance Abatement (Metropolis) Act, 1853 imposed fines on factories emitting excessive smoke in London. The problem was ultimately addressed by the Clean Air Act 1956, which banned the use of smoky fuels, especially in densely populated areas.  

Claude Monet developed his own unique painting technique: he applied paint with short brushstrokes, using varied shapes and densities (thick scattered dots, dashes, zigzags, and bold strokes). From the beginning of his career, he avoided mixing colors on the palette, preferring to work with pure hues. He often chose canvases primed in white or cream, which made his colors appear brighter and more luminous.  

It is believed that Monet used only nine pigments in his works: lead white, chrome yellow, cadmium yellow, viridian green, emerald green, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, madder red, and vermillion. Ivory black was part of his palette only until 1886. Additionally, Monet typically employed the light tones of the solar spectrum—the foundation of Impressionist color theory. He rendered shadows through color alone, abandoning black entirely.