Bridges in art

Rendering of proposed new eastern span for San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, designed for more than mere functionality and becoming quite costly to build
In Morning on the River, by Jonas Lie (1911-12), the Brooklyn Bridge adds depth through both perspective and atmospherics and its diagonal visual mass is compositionally balanced by the dock and building
Claude Monet's The Waterlily Pond, green harmony, c. 1899
Van Gogh's Le Pont de l'Anglois, 1888

A bridge can play many roles in art, for example

Poems

Motion pictures

Songs

  • The Simon and Garfunkel song (using the term metaphorically), "Bridge Over Troubled Water".
  • The song "Ode to Billie Joe", which became a hit for Bobbie Gentry (1967)
  • The Divine Comedy's "Painting the Forth Bridge", the title being a colloquial term for an unending task, a reference to the Forth Bridge
  • The Pogues' "Misty Morning, Albert Bridge": Albert Bridge is a bridge across the Thames river
  • MC Frontalot's song "Floating Bridge" is literally about different types of bridges.
  • Andy Partridge (of XTC) and Harold Budd – "Tenochtitlan's Numberless Bridges": Tenochtitlan was an Aztec island city with many waterways, canals, and bridges
  • Harpers Bizarre – "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)": The bridge of the title, also known as the Queensboro Bridge, links Manhattan with Queens
  • T'Pau – "Bridge of Spies": The title refers to Glienicke Bridge in Germany, called the Bridge of Spies because three times during the Cold War, released agents were exchanged there.

Other works

Paintings

Homes to sculpture and other art

Bridges are often used as locations for sculptures. Especially popular are animals such as lions, perhaps serving as guardians. Examples are the 485 carved stone lions of the Marco Polo Bridge in China, which was first constructed in 1192, and the four Centre Street Bridge lions of Calgary, which date to 1917.

Another well-known example of a bridge hosting statues is the Charles Bridge in Prague, which is home to 30 statues and statuaries, mostly baroque, dating to around 1700.

An example of a bridge graced with extensive mosaic art is the Larry Monroe Forever Bridge in Austin, Texas.

See also

References

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