Lights + Sounds of a Night Train 1924

Benedetta Cappa’s painting is a kind of time capsule, made with tempera, ink, and collage. It seems to me it wants to capture not just the look, but the very feel of a speeding night train. I love the thick swipes of red and the metallic flashes. I can almost imagine Benedetta in a hurry, trying to keep up with the train’s energy. She’s catching the rhythm of the rails, the blur of lights, the whole sensory experience of the ride. I see those copper pyramids bumping along the bottom as if they are the very carriages of the train, and I wonder if she felt as though she could build movement into the painting. The Futurist painters were all obsessed with speed, noise, and technology. I can see them having conversations with each other about how to evoke these sensations on canvas. It’s a reminder that artists don’t create in a vacuum. We’re always in dialogue, borrowing and building on each other’s ideas.