7/7/13
Christopher Craddock
ARH 2000: Art Appreciation: Appreciating the ARTS
Professor Dorotha Lemeh
Word count: 218
Blog Entry #5 on Chapter 6
Describing “ The Railway “ viewed in class (1873)
By: Edouard Manet
The painting by
Manet know as The Railway was the last painting in which he used his favorite
model the gorgeous Ms. Meurent. It took place near Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris.
The way Manet places his models and the way he has Ms. Meurent facing the
viewer and the little girl facing the opposite direction, looking into the
distance beyond the fence, drags the viewers eye into the background where
there seems to be the destruction of something that is smoking profusely. The discreet
way how Manet has Ms. Meurent in full blue while exposing a little of the inner
white and has the little girl in full white while wearing a blue bow creates a
invisible line between the two and shows their differences. Even including the
black Hat and the black headband show how the little girl could be a smaller
version of Ms. Meurent and possibly be her when she was a little girl. In
addition the puppy sleeping in the arms of Ms. Meurent portrays a feeling of
peace and security that she brings and how love for something or someone can
overcome the horrors of death and destruction. Manet loved to paint scenes and
this scene shows life in Paris during the 1800s and its current activity of
change of culture and beliefs.