Gustave Caillebotte: Le Pont de l'Europe (1876)

(Musée du Petit Palais, Genève, Switzerland)

A painting by the French artist Gustave Caillebotte (1848 - 1894). Depicted on this painting are several pedestrians on the Pont de l'Europe, a large X-shaped bridge and plaza joining six avenues in Paris. The bridge spans over the railroad yards at Gare Saint-Lazare which can be seen on the right. The view is from the rue de Vienne, looking towards the center of the plaza and the Rue Saint-Pétersbourg. There is some discussion over the identity of the man and woman on the left. The man is perhaps a self portrait of Gustave Caillebotte. The woman is sometimes interpreted to be a prostitute, according to contemporary social norms regarding women in public, especially in the area of the train station. Another theory is that she is Anne-Marie Hagen, Caillebotte's companion. Painting from 1876.