Schuylkill no. 3 

Henry Lyman Saÿen captured this scene in his Schuylkill no. 3 with ink on paper. The image pulsates with the motifs of modernity. Note the powerful locomotive traversing the bridge, a symbol of progress and industrial might. The bridge itself, an architectural marvel, echoes ancient Roman aqueducts, structures designed to connect and sustain civilizations. But unlike the aqueducts, promising life-giving water, this bridge carries the smoke-belching train, a more ambiguous symbol. The smoke, a dark shroud, reminds us of the costs of progress. Consider how fire, once revered as a divine gift, is here transformed into a sign of pollution and disquiet. Perhaps Saÿen's work is tapping into our collective anxieties about the relentless march of technology, subtly stirring our subconscious fears. This primal ambivalence towards the modern world, and the powerful grip it has on our imaginations, makes this artwork a potent expression of our times.