St Paul's Cathedral seen from the Thames

Bright, saturated colors transform the familiar London skyline into a vibrant, dreamlike scene. St Paul’s rises in bold blues against a sky streaked with yellow, pink, and green, while boats in vivid reds and deep blues float across water that glows like liquid sunlight. Derain strips the city of realism and rebuilds it through pure color, turning architecture and river into expressive shapes.

Painted during his London period, the work reflects Derain’s fascination with how light and atmosphere can alter the mood of a place. Instead of depicting the city’s famous fog, he imagines a London full of warmth and motion. The contrast between the cathedral’s solid form and the lively brushstrokes around it gives the painting a sense of balance and joy. It becomes less a view of the Thames and more a celebration of color’s ability to reshape what we think we know.