|
|
|
ALL FIVE PAINTINGS reproduced here are from the years 1875-1877, when
Caillebotte was in his late twenties. The images on
this page are thumbnails; click on the image to see a
full-sized picture. I have indicated the size of the full
image, as these may take a few seconds to load. |
|
|
 The
Floor Scrapers was painted in 1875, and is an unadorned representation
of labourers working in a house. This realism was quite unusual at the
time. [466Kb] |
|
jkjk
|
 Place
de l'Europe On A Rainy Day, from 1877, is a remarkably
clear snapshot of a Parisian street. [505Kb] |
|
jkjk
|
 Le
Pont de l'Europe (1876) again is unposed, and at first sight gives the
impression of a casual snap. [451Kb] |
|
jkjk
|
 The
Gardeners was painted between 1875 and 1877 [529Kb] |
|
jkjk
|
 The
Boating Party is from 1877. Caillebotte enjoyed boating, and this
is only one of many paintings inspired by the Seine. [522Kb] |
|
Gustave Caillebotte
Caillebotte was born near Paris on 19 Aug 1848, to a wealthy
family which had made its fortune in textiles and property. He
completed his studies in law in 1870, and in 1873 inherited the
legacy which was to keep him financially secure for life; in
the same year he entered the École des Beaux Arts where he would
study for the next two years. He became with friendly with
Monet and others, and helped to organise the first Impressionist
exhibition.
By the time of the second exhibition
in 1876 - to which he himself contributed - Caillebotte was becoming
a major patron of the Impressionists, subsidising not only Monet but
also Pissarro, Sisley and Renoir among others. Yet he himself
remained a painter of great accomplishment, and was never only a
patron of art.
His style has more realism than that
of his colleagues, and indeed when it was first unveiled The
Floorscrapers was considered shocking in its unromanticised
portrayal of manual labour. His other work too have a more
photographic quality than was usual among the paintings of his
friends. He left in all some 500 works, which are now the
objects of increasing interest in the art world.
Caillebotte left his collection of
Impressionists to France, on the condition that they would first be
displayed in the Luxembourg Museum (where the works of living
artists were exhibited) and then in the Louvre, but after he died in
1894, the Institute du France refused to accept the collection, and
it was to be another 34 years before 38 of the 67 masterpieces found
their home in the Louvre. Today his collection can be seen in
the Musée d'Orsay.
|
|
