Paris, 1877 · Steam, iron, glass and painting of modern life

In twelve paintings, Claude Monet transforms the Saint-Lazare station into a laboratory of light where locomotives, glass roofs, smoke and crowds dissolve industrial architecture.

At the beginning of 1877, Claude Monet temporarily left the landscapes of Argenteuil to paint in the heart of Paris. Installed near the New Athens district, he obtained authorization to work in the Saint-Lazare station, the terminus of the line to Normandy. The place embodies modernity: iron and glass structure, locomotives, timetables, passengers, noise and steam make up a constantly changing motif. Between January and March, Monet created twelve paintings known from inside the hall, the quays, the timetables and the passengers, noise and steam make up a constantly changing motif. Between January and March, Monet created twelve paintings known from inside the hall, the quays, the tracks and the surroundings of the Pont de l'Europe. He presented several together at the third impressionist exhibition of 1877. This decision heralded his future method serial: take the same place to measure the transformations of light, atmosphere and point of view. Monet does not describe the machines in detail. The clouds of steam hide then reveal the framework, diffuse the light from the glass roofs and bring certain areas closer to abstraction. The four works chosen vary this experience. The arrival of the Normandy train concentrates the energy of the locomotive under the large hall. A general view organizes the rails like vanishing lines. The arrival of a train from Normandy brings the energy of the locomotive under the large hall. A general view organizes the rails like vanishing lines. The arrival of a train brings the dark mass through the smoke. A general view organizes the rails like vanishing lines. The arrival of a train brings the dark mass through the smoke. A general view organizes the rails like vanishing lines. The arrival of a train brings the dark mass through the smoke. A general view organizes the rails like vanishing lines. The arrival of a train brings the dark mass through the smoke. The signals finally transform the infrastructure into a vertical and colorful network. Together, these paintings celebrate a industrial city without renouncing the poetic instability of printing. The selection "Saint-Lazare Monet station" notably compares Arrival of the Normandy train and La Gare Saint-Lazare. Its reading favors details.

In Saint-Lazare, Monet paints less the train than the air transformed by the train: steam, light and architecture become a single material.