Anders Zorn (Mora, 1860 - 1920, Mora)
The Omnibus, 1892
Oil on canvas, 126 x 88 cm (49 5/8 x 34 5/8 in.)
This vertical oil painting shows the dimly lit interior of a streetcar with five light-skinned people grouped on one side of the car. The central figure, seated on our left, is a well-dressed woman wearing a black coat over a high-necked blue dress. She wears an elegant Victorian hat over pinned-up hair. The fingers of her left hand grasp the leather strap of a white tote bag. A ray of light falls on her, creating a triangle shape on her right cheek and chin, and an elongated triangle shape on the tote bag. To her right, our left, is a partial view of the man's arm and hands in his lap. He is wearing a black trench coat and a white cuff is visible on his left arm. He uses a pen in his right hand to write on paper held by his left hand. To the woman’s left, our right, is a young, woman in profile. Next to her is a young man with a mustache wearing a light-colored trench coat and a cap. His head is tilted to the right so that his face is obscured. His arms are folded across his chest. Next to him is a gentleman in a black top hat and black coat. His head is held upright with downcast eyes, and his hands are crossed and resting on what may be a briefcase. Next to him is a woman looking to her left, our right, wearing a black hat and coat. Light is reflected through the smudged windows above and behind the figures. The scene outside windows is blurred. The painting is signed and dated on the lower right: Zorn-Paris 1892 in black paint. It is framed in a simply carved black wooden frame.
Blue Room
Commentary
Why was Mrs. Gardner so drawn to this work when she saw it in Chicago? It is a thoroughly modern painting: the subject is contemporary urban life — people sitting on a Paris trolley — and the style is Impressionist, although the Impressionists never really painted the dreary aspects of public transportation. Zorn depicts the isolation and sadness that comes with industrial progress, even as people are more crowded together.
It has been reported that Mrs. Gardner rode the streetcars of Boston, and thus could have identified with the well-dressed women riders. And, if a bit of speculation is allowed, the woman in the foreground, apprehensive yet eager, leaning and looking forward, mirrors the aspect of Mrs. Gardner at this moment in her life – about to embark on a serious career of collecting.
Source: Richard Lingner, "Omnibus," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 213.
It has been reported that Mrs. Gardner rode the streetcars of Boston, and thus could have identified with the well-dressed women riders. And, if a bit of speculation is allowed, the woman in the foreground, apprehensive yet eager, leaning and looking forward, mirrors the aspect of Mrs. Gardner at this moment in her life – about to embark on a serious career of collecting.
Source: Richard Lingner, "Omnibus," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 213.