Le pont de chemin der fer à Argenteuil (The Railway Bridge in Argenteuil)
Dublin Core
Title
Le pont de chemin der fer à Argenteuil (The Railway Bridge in Argenteuil)
Subject
Railway as a natural "feature" of the landscape
Description
This expression of the railroad bridge at Argenteuil is far different from Monet’s Train in the Countryside (1870) where the train was hidden in the background and by foliage, demonstrating a potential change in attitude towards the railway in the landscape. The Railway Bridge consists of an impressive, modern-looking bridge spanning the river with a train atop releasing steam, two individuals marveling at the bridge on the left banks of the river, and two white sail boats within the water. The impression of this painting is that “Monet is not so much celebrating leisure as asking us to marvel at a wonder of modern engineering” (Herbert). While older artists like Corot resisted indicators of “progress” or encroachment of Paris on the countryside, Monet fully embraced the railway as essentially a facet of the landscape (Herbert). Monet deliberately seamlessly connects the right hand side of the bridge with the rock on the side of the river as if this were a natural occurrence. Further, symbolized by the steam, Monet draws parallels between the harmony of nature and industry. The train releases smoke which, at some point, becomes indecipherable from the actual clouds. Yet, perfectly straight lines do not usually naturally occur in nature, so Monet’s emphasis of the horizontal line created by the bridge is also evidence of the intention to emphasize modern engineering and industry.
The railway bridge and train are integrated into the landscape, careful to not impose but also distinct enough to be impressionable and serve as an indicator of modern man-made achievements. The two individuals on the bank serve the purpose of emphasizing that the bridge is something to marvel at. TJ Clark comments that the presence of industry in Argenteuil “lays claim to the landscape in rather the same way as the two people in the foreground - a bit erratically, naively, acre by acre, without much of a flourish,” yet, Monet is careful to make the figures and (especially) the railway seem to “fit” or belong (172).
The railway bridge and train are integrated into the landscape, careful to not impose but also distinct enough to be impressionable and serve as an indicator of modern man-made achievements. The two individuals on the bank serve the purpose of emphasizing that the bridge is something to marvel at. TJ Clark comments that the presence of industry in Argenteuil “lays claim to the landscape in rather the same way as the two people in the foreground - a bit erratically, naively, acre by acre, without much of a flourish,” yet, Monet is careful to make the figures and (especially) the railway seem to “fit” or belong (172).
Creator
Claude Monet
Source
TJ Clark, "The Environs of Paris," The Painting of Modern Life (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 147-204.
Fallone, Emma. “Art as a Window Into the Past: Impressionist views of Haussman’s Paris.” The Yale Historical Review, 2015. https://historicalreview.yale.edu/sites/default/files/yhr_fall_2015_web.pdf
Fallone, Emma. “Art as a Window Into the Past: Impressionist views of Haussman’s Paris.” The Yale Historical Review, 2015. https://historicalreview.yale.edu/sites/default/files/yhr_fall_2015_web.pdf
Date
1873
Contributor
Sofia Petrulla
Relation
https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/101731
Railroad Bridge, Argenteuil
https://www.gallery.ca/magazine/exhibitions/monets-impressive-bridges-at-argenteuil
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.61374.html
Railroad Bridge, Argenteuil
https://www.gallery.ca/magazine/exhibitions/monets-impressive-bridges-at-argenteuil
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.61374.html
Citation
Claude Monet , “Le pont de chemin der fer à Argenteuil (The Railway Bridge in Argenteuil),” Cornell ARTH 3625/6625, accessed May 16, 2024, https://cornellcolab.net/pariscaptialofmodernity/items/show/5666.