Louis Beysson (1856 - 1912) Locomotive At The Station Lyon-mouche

Signed lower right. Framed.

This oil on canvas by Louis Beysson, entitled Locomotive at the Station — Lyon?Mouche, captures the nocturnal, industrial atmosphere of Lyon’s La Mouche depot. The composition foregrounds a steam locomotive emerging from the darkness, its powerful headlights illuminating the track and mirrored in a puddle in the foreground. Energetic, expressive brushwork conveys the machine’s movement and power, while smoke and steam fill the space, softening contours and heightening the drama of the scene. On the right, the station glows with warm light, contrasting with the painting’s otherwise dark, mysterious mood. Through his rapid strokes and play of light, Beysson pays tribute to industrial expansion and modernity while evoking the urban poetry and solitude of railway stations at night. The work testifies to the era’s fascination with technological progress and the transformation of urban landscapes.

Louis Antoine Besson was born into a well-established Lyon bourgeois family; his father was a silk merchant. He studied at the Imperial Lycée of Lyon, then with the Jesuits at Saint-Michel College in Fribourg. He enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon and trained in Danguin’s studio.

With the support of the humanist Aimé Vingtrinier, Besson published Geri, ou Un premier amour in 1876—the first French novel to deal openly with homosexuality. After his military service he hesitated between writing and painting.

Settling in Paris, he brought out Mousseline (1882) and adapted it for the stage; although Sarah Bernhardt was enthusiastic, the Paris production fell through. Back in Lyon, the play triumphed at the Célestins in 1884, prompting a new edition of Geri. He published Le Fils du Christ (1885) and later directed Les Annales lyonnaises illustrées.

In the heart of Rue Ferrandière in Lyon he opened his own painting studio, a true creative jewel box. Captivated by the railway epic, he glorified majestic stations and steel locomotives on his canvases—an audacious choice that soon earned him enviable acclaim. He died peacefully at his home in Champagne-au-Mont-d’Or on 7 August 1912.