Broadside with 48 scenes of trains and their passengers etc 1867

This is "Broadside with 48 scenes of trains and their passengers etc," a lithograph by José María Marés from 1867. Contained within a grid-like arrangement, each small scene offers a glimpse into the world of railway travel. The composition consists of a series of miniature narratives, each framed as a self-contained unit. We see a play of contrasts, the stillness of individual portraits versus the dynamism of trains in motion, or the intimacy of passengers within compartments against the vastness of the passing landscape. The graphic style and monochrome palette contribute to the work's structural clarity. The scenes seem to offer a semiotic system, using symbols and codes to communicate aspects of contemporary life. Through this ordered arrangement, the artwork creates a sense of both comprehensiveness and fragmentation, reflecting the changing experience of space and time in the industrial era. Each scene prompts us to decode the signs of travel, labor, and social interaction that shaped the modern world.