Monet's Gare Saint-Lazare: Steam and Light in 12 Canvases
Claude Monet painted a dozen canvases of the Gare Saint-Lazare in 1877, renting a studio near the station after commuting from Argenteuil. Six to eight of these were exhibited at the Third Impressionist Exhibition of 1877, where they sparked intense discussion. The series focuses on the play of light, steam, and locomotives, deliberately omitting the station's grand façade. Monet's depictions of the Pont de l'Europe and the industrial haze were part of a broader Impressionist interest in railroads, shared by Caillebotte, Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Guillaumin, Raffaëlli, and Manet. Émile Zola praised Monet for finding poetry in the gritty station. The paintings remain among Monet's most famous series.
Key facts
- Monet painted 12 canvases of Gare Saint-Lazare in 1877.
- He rented a studio near the station that year.
- Six to eight paintings were shown at the Third Impressionist Exhibition of 1877.
- Monet never depicted the station's grand hotel or façade.
- Other Impressionists like Caillebotte also painted railroad subjects.
- Caillebotte's 'Le pont de l'Europe' was exhibited at the same 1877 exhibition.
- Émile Zola wrote about Monet's ability to beautify the station.
- The series is one of Monet's most famous in his lifetime.
Entities
Artists
- Claude Monet
- Gustave Caillebotte
- Camille Pissarro
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Edgar Degas
- Armand Guillaumin
- Jean-François Raffaëlli
- Édouard Manet
- Émile Zola
Institutions
- Harvard Art Museums
- Musée d'Orsay
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Musée du Petit Palais
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Argenteuil
- Cambridge
- MA
- USA
- Chicago
- IL
- Geneva
- Switzerland
- Place de l'Europe