The Train Journey

The Train Journey

Photograph

Erich Hartmann

Maker
American, b. Germany, 1922–1999

The Train Journey

1981
Gelatin silver print
Image: 5 13/16 × 8 9/16 in. (14.7 × 21.7 cm)
Paper: 6 15/16 × 9 7/16 in. (17.7 × 23.9 cm)
Gift of Steven and Claudia Schwartz, 2024
2025.0010.0087
Inscriptions Printed in black on applied label on verso, TC: TRANSPORT/VERKEHR \ EISENBAHN
Typed in purple on verso, C: the Train Journey............. March 81. Distrib 81-57 \ The world through the train window is like the pages of a picture \ -book flipped too fast, swift visions of bridges and people, \ a cat's cradle of overhead power lines, rivers and shining rails. \ Long vistas of fields and vineyards, tall trees rush by in an \ intricate drill, their changing formations a product of the \ train's swift passage and the eye's complex tricks. There is a \ special magic that surrounds train travel, whereas the airplane \ trip is both literally and figuratively the shortest distance \ between two points with no opportunity to appreciate or savor the \ time and geography through which one has passed. This photographic \ essay by MAGNUM photographer, Erich Hartmann, illustrates some of \ the relaxed pleasures of train journeys through Europe where the \ vision is gone almost before the brain can receive the eye's message. \ It is a performance personal to each passenger – everyone has a \ private view........ \ Photos by Erich Hartmann, MAGNUM Photos, 2 rue Christine, Paris 6e
Stamped and signed in black on verso, BL: This photograph was printed by Erich Hartmann \ or under his direct supervision. \ Signed: Ruth Hartmann
Printed in black on applied label on verso, BR: FOCUS \ Moorweidenstraße 34 \ 2000 Hamburg 13 \ Tel.: 44 37 69
Printed in black on applied label on verso, BR: MAG0010000 \ 291
Inscribed in pencil on verso, BLC: EH-231
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