I attended the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth on March 21, 2009. I spent some time browsing the many paintings such as those of Monet and such. I came across a painting that for one reason or another caught my eye. It was not “flashy” by any means but I liked it just the same. The title of the piece was “On the Pont de ‘Europe” painted by Gusatave Caillebotte in 1876-1877. It is an oil on canvas piece from the impressionist era.
I believe that one of the reasons that the painting caught my eye was due to the size of the painting compared to that of those surrounding it. The painting is of three men looking over a bridge with railroad tracks in the distance. The painting itself showed many gestural lines and brush strokes as opposed to sharp contour lines. The shapes in the piece were very geometrical and had a very naturalistic color scheme. The painting was almost overcome by neutral colors with use of black, white and grey but also added a lot of blue to make the painting almost have a calm effect to it. The use of these colors used in conjunction with the men being dressed in long wool coats and hats allowed the viewer to feel the coldness in the air. You can almost feel the coldness of the steel beams from the bridge against your skin. He also displays a great understanding of atmospheric perspective as you can see the many buildings in the distance, which are of a lighter color. They are not as well defined and colorful as the huge crossbeams of the bridge and the steel posts that hold them together. There was also great attention to detail in the painting as displayed in the hair of the men. Even though you only see the back of their heads, you can see that a great amount of time was put into the definition of each strand of hair, almost as if you could feel the slight breeze and crispness in the air.
The balance of the painting was asymmetrical with the men off to the far left side and the city and railroad to the center and right. It was almost as if the painter was trying to omit them from the picture and was just trying to capture the scenery because the men were not the focus of the painting. The men in the painting seemed to be of scale and proportion. The artist used the impasto technique similar to J.M.W. Turner, as many areas had thick, rich areas of “built up” paint. They are overlooking “Gare Saint-Lazare” and the railroad tracks according to the plaque. I thought that this was a very accurate painting that demonstrated what urban life was like during this time. In studying American history during this time period, there was a huge industrial boom in where I think that the color scheme of blues, grey and black demonstrate a feeling of the time. Poor working conditions, gloomy outlooks on life and an almost dullness is displayed in this painting. In contrast, there is hope in the distance with the use of lighter colors. The men in the painting portray an almost aristocratic manner, which also reflects the coldness in the painting. This is parallel with the time of the painting where a small amount of people owned the greatest amount of wealth. It may also represent a correlation of the industrial kings with the railroad, in that they were monopolizing the use of the railroad industry as to crush competition. This is perhaps the most intriguing part of the painting that I found.
I found it interesting in reading the plaque next to the painting that the artist was a patron and collector of art as well as a talented artist. He was not made rich by his paintings, but he had a large inheritance that had given him a great wealth and a great opportunity in my opinion. In 1874, he organized the first exhibition of the impressionist paintings. The plaque also stated that he preferred artists such as Degas, Monet, Pissarro, Sisley and Renoir. I thought that it was ironic, in reading this, that his painting was situated next to Monet. It also stated that he produced over 500 works during his lifetime. One must admire a man who brought so much opportunity to the world of the impressionists. I certainly found an intriguing painting that provoked many interpretations for me.
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