Return to Gallery
The Saint-Lazare StationThe Saint-Lazare Station © Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France/The Bridgeman Art Library

The Saint-Lazare Station

Claude Monet. 1877 C.E. Oil on canvas.

Curator Note

"A classic Impressionist work capturing the modern industrial landscape of a train station. Monet isn’t interested in the train as a machine, but in the visual effect of the steam, smoke, and light filtering through the glass roof. It represents the "fleeting moment" of modern life."

Form

  • Loose, choppy brushstrokes (taches).
  • Pastel and blurred colors (blues, pinks, grays) for the steam.
  • Emphasis on atmospheric effects over solid form.
  • Light filtering through the grid of the roof.
  • Urban, industrial subject matter.

Function

  • To capture the "impression" of light and atmosphere.
  • To paint "en plein air" (or sketching on site).
  • To depict the modernity of Paris.
  • To explore color theory.
  • To move away from narrative painting.

Content

  • Locomotive: symbol of industrial power.
  • Steam/Smoke: dissolves the solidity of the city.
  • Apartment buildings in background: Haussmann’s Paris.
  • Small figures: anonymous passengers.
  • The interplay of structure (iron) and air.

Context

  • Monet convinced the station master to hold the trains so he could paint.
  • Part of a series of 12 paintings of the station.
  • Impressionists were interested in the changing urban environment.
  • Coincided with the rise of rail travel.
  • Critics called it "wallpaper" or "unfinished".