Back to the National Museum of Serbia for one more painting, this is ‘On the Train’, painted by Serbian artist Ivan Tabaković (1898–1977) in 1934. What intrigued me, as I obviously need more things to think about, was wondering who these passengers were and where they were going. There’s a figure stretched out across the wooden bench in the foreground and another sitting upright behind. They might be travelling together, or they might be strangers sharing a compartment, with one quietly regretting not claiming the bench first. or perhaps they’ve had an argument, who knows…..
Tabaković had helped found Zemlja, an artists’ group concerned with social hardship, in 1929, although he left in 1932. That doesn’t explain these passengers, but it adds something to my curiosity about them. Are they travelling for pleasure, heading to work or making a journey they’d rather not have to take? The reclining passenger might be exhausted, although perhaps they simply spotted an empty bench and acted decisively, much like Wizz Air passengers sneaking into the exit row seats.
I’m conscious that I’ve read a comfortable journey into a scene that might be anything but comfortable. Wooden seating, heavy coats and someone lying down could equally suggest a tiring trip with little opportunity to rest properly. Having too much time on my hands when travelling, I sometimes construct little histories for fellow passengers, usually on evidence that wouldn’t survive even the most sympathetic examination. Being British, I’m obviously not going to ask them about their life, so I have to imagine these things.
Tabaković’s career also took him well beyond railway compartments. He won a Grand Prix for painting and ceramics at the 1937 Paris international exhibition, and MoMA holds his later work ‘Escape to Universe’. From a wooden bench to the universe is a substantial expansion of travel ambitions. Here, though, he leaves us with two people whose destination remains unknown, and I rather like having to accept that I’ll never find out. I’ve perhaps now spent longer wondering about these passengers than I have about some of my actual travelling companions.