The Third-Class Carriage1864
In the cramped wooden compartment of a third-class railway carriage, an old woman sits with her hands folded on a basket, flanked by a young mother nursing her baby and a sleeping boy, while rows of passengers in top hats crowd the benches behind. More about this work
About this work
In the cramped wooden compartment of a third-class railway carriage, an old woman sits with her hands folded on a basket, flanked by a young mother nursing her baby and a sleeping boy, while rows of passengers in top hats crowd the benches behind. Honoré Daumier, famous as a satirical caricaturist, here turns his sharp eye on the poorer travellers of modern Paris with sympathy rather than mockery. He returned to the subject several times, in paintings and watercolour. The figures sit side by side, yet each seems alone with their thoughts.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Honoré Daumier
French, 1808–1879 · Born in Marseilles; died in Valmondois.
Daumier grew up in Paris after his family left Marseilles, and learned lithography as a young man. For some forty years he drew for satirical papers such as La Caricature and Le Charivari, producing around four thousand lithographs that mocked politicians, lawyers and the habits of the Parisian middle class; a caricature of King Louis-Philippe earned him six months in prison in 1832. His paintings and drawings, such as The Third-Class Carriage, treat ordinary people with deep sympathy.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 29.100.129
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
