In a Railway Carriage (After a Night's Journey)
1851
Adolph Menzel German, 1815–1905
Germany
This is a remarkable example of an early work from a pioneering proponent of Realism. Menzel revealed the unglamorous aspect of bourgeois train travel in many compelling details: a man asleep in a contorted position, a wistful woman gazing out at early morning light, the detritus of their journey around them. Menzel began to use opaque watercolor (gouache) in 1850, combining it with pastel (and oil) as seen here.
Gouache, with touches of pastel and oil paint, on cream wove paper, laid down on Japanese paper