The Railway: Difference between revisions

'''''The Railway''''', widely known as '''''Gare Saint-Lazare''''', is an 1873 painting by [[Édouard Manet]]. It is the last painting by Manet of his favourite model, the fellow painter [[Victorine Meurent]], who was also the model for his earlier works ''[[Olympia (painting)|Olympia]]'' and the ''[[Luncheon on the Grass]]''. It was exhibited at the [[Paris Salon]] in 1874, and donated to the [[National Gallery of Art]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] in 1956.

Meurent is depicted sitting to the left side of the frame, in front of an iron fence near the [[Gare Saint-Lazare]] in Paris. The pensive subject is wearing a dark hat and sombre deep blue dress with white details, and is looking towards the viewer, while a sleeping puppy, a fan and an open book rest in her lap.<ref name= delphi/> Next to her is a little girl, modelled by the daughter of Manet's neighbour [[{{ill|Alphonse Hirsch]]|de}},<ref name= delphi/> a contrasting figure wearing a white dress with large blue bow, standing her back to the viewer, watching through the railings as a train passes beneath them. The black band in the girl's hair echoes the black band around the neck of the woman. Instead of choosing the traditional natural view as background for an outdoor scene, Manet opted for the iron grating which "boldly stretches across the canvas."<ref (Gayname= 106).delphi>{{cite book| title= Delphi Complete Works of Édouard Manet |chapter= The Railway | series= Volume 29 of Delphi Masters of Art| first= Peter |last= Russell| publisher= Delphi Classics| year= 2016| isbn= 9781786564993}}</ref> The only evidence of the train is its white cloud of steam. Modern apartment buildings can be seen in the background, – including the house on the [[{{ill|Rue de Saint-Pétersbourg]]|fr}}, near the [[{{ill|Place de l'Europe]]|fr}}, where Manet had rented a studio since July 1872, — and also a [[signal box]] and the [[Pont de l'Europe]].

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* {{cite web | title =Édouard Manet's, The Railway | work = | publisher =[[Smarthistory]] at [[Khan Academy]] | date = | url =httphttps://smarthistorywww.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/realism/v/douard-manet-the-railway-1872-73 | accessdateaccess-date =FebruaryOctober 1125, 20132020}}

{{Édouard Manet}}

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[[Category:CollectionsPaintings ofin the National Gallery of Art]]