[Pius IX's Railroad Car]

[Pius IX's Railroad Car]

Gustave Le Gray, 1859

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Artist: Gustave Le Gray (French, 1820–1884)
Medium: Albumen silver print
Size: Image: 28.9 × 40.6 cm (11 3/8 × 16 in.)
Culture: French
Museum: J. Paul Getty Museum
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

An ornate railroad car belonging to Pope Pius IX, the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 1846 to 1887, sits on an unfinished piece of track. For the fortunate few who could afford it, such luxurious custom cars were available, though their passengers were still subject to violent jolts when the train started. But for the majority of passenger, railroad travel was incredibly uncomfortable in the 1800s. Most passenger cars had little more to offer than wooden seats or benches and a pot-bellied stove.

Gustave Le Gray's interest in railroads appears to have been minimal; few prints of the subject by him exist. In 1859, the first year photographs were included at the Salon, Le Gray exhibited this image in a gallery adjoining that for the official Salon painting.

Text: J. Paul Getty Trust, CC BY 4.0.

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