August Macke’s Girls on the Railway Crossover in the Evening, painted in 1913, turns an ordinary modern encounter into a tightly orchestrated composition of figures, tracks and fading light. Two girls occupy the central foreground, their simplified forms caught within a restless structure of diagonals and curves. Around them, the railway crossing breaks the ground into intersecting bands, while darker shapes and softer atmospheric passages suggest a landscape receding beyond. The scene feels momentary yet carefully balanced: human movement and engineered geometry held together in a single, concentrated view.

Macke was among the leading figures of German Expressionism and a key participant in the circle around Der Blaue Reiter. Although he absorbed the radical experiments of the European avant-garde, his own work frequently remained rooted in recognisable aspects of contemporary life: people walking, shopping, gathering in parks or passing through the changing spaces of the modern city. Here, the railway is more than incidental scenery. Crossings, rails and embankments belonged to the increasingly familiar visual language of early twentieth-century modernity, and Macke uses their angular structure to animate an otherwise fleeting evening scene.

A closer look

The two figures act as the composition’s still point, even as their postures imply movement. Rendered in broad grey forms and edged by darker contours, they appear to advance through a space that is continually shifting around them. Fine pale streaks articulate parts of their clothing and gestures, preventing the figures from becoming solid silhouettes. Macke gives only what is necessary to establish their presence; individual detail is subordinated to rhythm, shape and the relationship between one figure and the other.

Below and beside them, densely intersecting lines establish the crossing. Some run sharply across the lower portion of the scene, while others turn diagonally towards the centre, directing the eye back to the girls. The varied thickness of these marks creates a visual distinction between structural elements without describing every rail or boundary literally. Particularly at the left and lower edges, cross-hatching and compressed dark strokes produce a sense of accumulated movement, as though several routes briefly converge beneath the figures’ feet.

The surroundings become less definite towards the upper part of the painting. Staggered lines and blurred forms suggest railway infrastructure, distant ground and perhaps the contours of a landscape, but they are allowed to merge into evening atmosphere. Deep charcoal passages provide weight, silvery greys soften the distance, and touches of chalky white catch against the darker field. The contrast creates depth without conventional modelling: space is assembled through overlapping planes and abrupt tonal shifts rather than through meticulous perspective.

Context and significance

Created during the intensely productive years immediately before the First World War, the painting belongs to a period in which Macke was developing a particularly lucid form of Expressionism. He shared Der Blaue Reiter’s interest in colour and formal simplification, yet often differed from the group’s more spiritual or visionary tendencies. His favoured subjects were frequently secular and immediate, drawn from everyday public life. Figures in his paintings do not usually perform grand narratives; they stroll, pause, look and pass one another, becoming elements within larger patterns of colour and space.

Macke died in 1914, making works from 1913 part of the final phase of a remarkably brief career. Girls on the Railway Crossover in the Evening demonstrates the economy he had achieved by then: a complex setting reduced to a few forceful relationships, and an unremarkable journey made visually compelling through compression, contrast and rhythm. The crossing remains recognisable, but its converging lines transform it into an expressive framework for the girls’ passage through the dusk.

Choosing the right size and finish

Artwork can feel intimate at smaller sizes and dramatically more architectural at larger ones. Use the room preview, model image and size guide to see how the proportions and scale will work in your space.

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The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this art print.

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Selected artworks can be produced at statement sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). Custom sizing and specialist framing are also available. If the exact option you need is not listed, contact our workshop.

This artwork is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The work is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present an art print without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas art and explore the differences between my different finishes.