Claude Monet, Gare Saint Lazare, 1877

Gare Saint Lazare, with its iron beasts emitting clouds of smoke and steam, was an ideal location for Monet to paint the effects of light on surfaces. Monet painted the station differently from his contemporaries, although the technique of painting subjects at different times was not implemented until the 1890s. Monet painted at least seven canvases of Gare Saint Lazare at different angles. The Paintings appeared in the third impressionist exhibition in 1877.

Monet’s representations of Gare Saint Lazare depict his turn to urban landscapes while painting the modern life that Zola encouraged artists to portray. Before moving to England, Monet lived in the suburbs of Paris and took the train into this station. He attempted to create the atmosphere that he felt in the presence of this new industrial terminal. Monet focused less on the iron of the building or train, but showed the altered light of the skylights reactivity with its surfaces amongst the steam. Eliminating line and details, Monet focused most on capturing the smoke that escaped the trains' furnaces.

Although Monet would later paint structures, Gares Saint Lazare was his last depiction of an urban setting. He would continue to experiment with the effects of light on his subjects until his death.