The Promenade with the Railroad Bridge, Argenteuil

Claude Monet, French

1874

Oil on canvas

Saint Louis Art Museum

Two figures stand on a grassy bank overlooking a wide river. A long railroad bridge spans the water in the background, with a boat on the river and trees lining the far bank. Two figures stand on a grassy bank overlooking a wide river. A long railroad bridge spans the water in the background, with a boat on the river and trees lining the far bank. This work was painted in the year of the first Impressionist exhibition and displays Claude Monet’s characteristically sketchy brushwork. The light gray color of the canvas ground remains visible across much of the picture surface. Monet represented his wife Camille and son Jean walking alongside the River Seine, while in the distance a train crosses the recently constructed railroad bridge. Monet lived in the Parisian suburb of Argenteuil from 1871 until 1878