The Passing of the Train

Regoyos returned frequently to the subject of trains in the Basque landscape — the passage of a locomotive carried for him both the excitement of modern speed and a melancholy sense of disrupted time. This painting reflects his ongoing dialogue with Verhaeren's poetry about industrial Belgium, transposed to northern Spain's green hills and small stations. The smoke, the flash of movement, and the ordinary bystanders who stop to watch were for Regoyos the authentic material of modern life, more honest than academic mythologies or tourist-friendly views of old Spain. The Carmen Thyssen Museum in Málaga holds this alongside other Regoyos works as part of its strong Spanish modernist holdings.

The transience of the train's passage is conveyed through rapidly applied, energetic brushwork in the area of the locomotive and its smoke trail, contrasting with the more settled, atmospheric treatment of the surrounding landscape. Regoyos restricts his palette to a narrow register of greens and greys punctuated by the warm ochre of station buildings.