Artwork
Waiting for the Train. Level Crossing by Roskilde Highway
Waiting for the Train. Level Crossing by Roskilde Highway is an oil painting by Laurits Andersen Ring. It dates from 1914 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Level Crossing by Roskilde Highway portrays a lone man on a bicycle positioned at a railway level crossing, with a modest house and fence visible nearby.
The painting titled Waiting for the Train. Level Crossing by Roskilde Highway portrays a lone man on a bicycle positioned at a railway level crossing, with a modest house and fence visible nearby. The composition places the man in a moment of pause as a train is anticipated, linking everyday domestic space with the approaching industrial railway.
By juxtaposing the quiet domestic elements with the linear, mechanized tracks, the work evokes themes of anticipation and the subtle tension between personal movement and larger technological forces in early twentieth‑century Denmark.
Technique & Style
Waiting for the Train. Level Crossing by Roskilde Highway is an oil painting on canvas created in 1914 by Laurits Andersen Ring. The work measures roughly 142.8 cm by 174.5 cm and was produced using oil pigments applied to a stretched canvas support, a technique characteristic of Ring’s mature period.
The composition presents a man with a bicycle at a railway level crossing, accompanied by a house and fence, rendered through linear perspective and a muted tonal range that emphasizes everyday movement. The painting’s formal balance and precise spatial rendering reflect the tenets of early modern Danish realism.
History & Provenance
Laurits Andersen Ring executed the oil painting Waiting for the Train. Level Crossing by Roskilde Highway in 1914. The work was created on canvas and depicts a scene featuring a man with a bicycle at a railway level crossing near a house and fence.
The painting entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, an institution under the Ministry of the State of Denmark, where it remains held.
The painting is held by Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it is inventoried as part of the Danish national collection under the accession associated with Laurits Andersen Ring’s 1914 work. It has been exhibited at the museum as part of its holdings of Ring’s oeuvre, reflecting its status within the national collection.
Context
Waiting for the Train. Level Crossing by Roskilde Highway is an oil on canvas painting completed in 1914 by Laurits Andersen Ring. The work belongs to the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen and depicts a man with a bicycle at a railway level crossing, together with a house and fence.
These elements illustrate Ring’s interest in contemporary Danish life and place the painting within his broader realist exploration of modern society.
Overview
Laurits Andersen Ring, a leading Danish painter, created Waiting for the Train. Level Crossing by Roskilde Highway in 1914. This oil painting depicts a quiet moment at a railway crossing, a common motif in Ring's work that often carries introspective undertones. The artwork is currently housed in the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst, showcasing his mature style.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Laurits Andersen Ring (Danish pronunciation:; 15 August 1854 – 10 September 1933) was one of the foremost Danish painters of the turn of the 20th century, who pioneered both symbolism and social realism in Denmark.
