Gifted by Nelson A. Rockefeller to the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Boccioni set The Farewells (1911) inside a train station, and what he wanted to capture wasn’t the scene itself but the feeling of it, the way modern life pulls people apart even as it rushes them forward. He doesn’t paint the platform clearly. Figures blur, edges dissolve, and the whole canvas seems to be moving before anything comes into focus.
A few things do stand out on close observation. The locomotive sits at the center, steam rising from its chimney. There’s a signpost off to the side. And near the engine, barely holding together, a couple wrapped in an embrace, already half swallowed by the surrounding haze. Everything else gives way to a wash of red, orange and yellow that spirals in from the upper left, sweeps across the canvas, then curls back down and cuts straight through the body of the train.
This was the first panel of his States of Mind triptych, painted right after a trip to Paris where he encountered Cubism up close for the first time. That trip left its mark. The fractured faces, the way bodies seem to fold into the space around them, even the stenciled numbers on the locomotive’s side, all of it echoes what the Cubists were doing in Paris around the same time.
Boccioni, a crucial figure of Futurist art style, wasn’t painting a busy railway station crowded with activity but the psychological impression of what chaos leaves behind. Nothing in the picture still holds long enough for the eye to rest, and that seems to be the point. Boccioni wanted the viewer pulled into the same disorientation gripping the people on that platform, caught somewhere between staying and leaving.
States of Mind I: The Farewells by Umberto Boccioni feels like an emotional rather than a literal depiction of people saying goodbye. Instead of showing a realistic train station scene, the artist uses swirling lines, overlapping shapes, and bold movement to express the confusion, excitement, and sadness that come with parting from loved ones. The figures, the train, and the surrounding environment seem to blend together, making it feel as though emotions are just as important as the physical setting.
To me, the artwork represents the complex emotions people experience during moments of separation. A farewell is rarely just about leaving—it often includes hope for the future, fear of the unknown, longing, and memories all happening at once. The dynamic composition reflects how overwhelming these feelings can be, while the sense of motion suggests that life continues moving forward even when people are forced to say goodbye.
The painting also seems to celebrate the modern world while acknowledging its emotional cost. Trains symbolize progress, speed, and new opportunities, but they also take people away from those they care about. This contrast makes the artwork feel both optimistic and bittersweet. It reminds viewers that technological advancement can connect distant places, yet it can also create moments of loneliness and separation.
The message I derive from the artwork is that change is an unavoidable part of life, and every farewell carries both an ending and a new beginning. Boccioni encourages viewers to look beyond the physical act of leaving and consider the powerful emotions that accompany transitions. The painting suggests that although goodbyes can be painful, they are also experiences that shape our memories, relationships, and personal growth.
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By: Andra-Cătălina Săvan
This artwork is a very emotional peace for me as railway stations carry a lot od inexplainable stories that is difficult to express. Through this painting, we can see the emotional and psychological turmoil that happens in such places which makes this a very precious piece of art.
