The artwork “Saint-Lazare Station, Exterior View” was created by Claude Monet in 1877. It is part of the Saint-Lazare Station series and exemplifies the Impressionist movement. The genre of this specific piece is categorized as a cityscape. Monet’s work captures a moment in time at the Saint-Lazare train station, which is a recurring subject in his oeuvre.
The artwork presents a bustling atmosphere at the Saint-Lazare Station in Paris, vividly depicting the industrial revolution’s impact on urban life. Monet’s masterful application of color and light captures the steam and smoke emitting from the locomotives, blending with the expansive sky. The edifice of the station looms in the background with its distinctive architectural features, while the foreground teems with the silhouettes of people going about their day amidst the shadows and highlights of the station. The loose brushstrokes and the interplay of light and shadow exemplify the Impressionist endeavors to represent scenes of modern life through the sensation of temporal light conditions, rather than the meticulous detail typical of academic painting. This work is not only a representation of an urban landscape but also a reflection of the era’s dynamic changes.
