The Railway
1873
Manet caused quite a stir with this 1873 masterpiece when he showed a woman staring blankly at the viewer while a little girl ignores her completely to peer through an iron fence. The sleeping puppy in her lap and the open book suggest a quiet afternoon, but the steam rising in the background hints at the modern, noisy railway just out of sight. Critics at the time were baffled by the lack of a clear story, but today we love how it captures a fleeting, candid moment of modern Parisian life, perfectly bridging the gap between traditional art and the new Impressionist movement.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 93.3 cm × 113.9 cm
Location: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
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