The Railway

Painted in 1873, this is one of Edouard Manet's most famous works, though it confused and even amused viewers when it was first shown. A young woman sits with a book and a small sleeping dog in her lap, looking directly out at us, while a little girl beside her turns away to peer through an iron fence. Behind that fence, a cloud of white steam rises from a passing train at the Saint-Lazare station in Paris. The train itself is hidden, which struck early critics as odd. Where was the railway promised by the title?

That mystery is part of the point. Manet was a leading figure in the move toward modern painting, and he loved capturing everyday city life rather than grand historical scenes. The woman who modeled for him was Victorine Meurent, a frequent subject in his paintings. Notice how the two figures seem caught up in completely different moments, one facing us, one turned away, with no clear story tying them together. Rather than telling a neat tale, Manet gives us a fleeting glimpse of a real instant, complete with loose brushwork and the smoky energy of a changing, industrial Paris.