Critical Review
Lowry visited Burton-on-Trent a few times and painted the level crossing more than once. Burton on-Trent is ripe with different kinds of charming scenery, but Lowry was drawn to the prosaic, busy street scene by the level crossing. The picture captures both movement and stillness - the boxy train, the pinched and bent people, the fading skies. It is an excellent example of Lowry’s restraint. The limited palette and straight, simple lines of perspective lead the eye through the picture to the squat houses in the background. Unlike most landscapes that indulge in the colours of nature, swaths of green and moody blue skies, Lowry’s skies and buildings are the same shade of grey, the black figures are silhouetted against the neutrality of the scene. Fences, windows and chimneys cut solid definite shapes. The result is a picture that has the naivety of painters such as Arthur Wallis, but with the precision of master printmakers like Dore and Durer. Lowry was an excellent draftsman, he was also humble, and this combination also made him a good teacher. Paula Rego once said that he looked at her work and said “Wow, I couldn't do that”, which filled the young artist with gratitude and confidence.
