Gustave Caillebotte  (French, 1848-1894) 

Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848–1894) was a painter best known for his Parisian street scenes, spatial views of architecture, and depictions of the Normandy coast. He received formal training at the studio of Léon Bonnat (French, 1833–1922) in 1872, but became interested in the experimental style of the Impressionists working in Paris at the time. One of Caillebotte’s earliest works, The Floor Planers (1875), follows academic tradition in palette and perspective, but the choice of depicting the urban proletariat was considered vulgar. Although the painting was rejected by the jury of the Salon in 1875, Caillebotte joined the Impressionist group and submitted it to their exhibition of 1876.

Caillebotte painted a series of views of Paris from above, illustrating the new city plan designed by Baron Georges Haussmann. His famous Paris Street: Rainy Weather (1877) is a prime example of Caillebotte’s characteristic use of plunging perspective and focus on architectural alignment; while the slick brushwork shows the influence of Realism, the asymmetrical composition and modern subject matter make this work distinctly Impressionist. After 1882, Caillebotte settled in Petit-Gennevilliers near Argenteuil, and focused on painting seascapes, villas, and gardens, retaining the use of bird’s-eye perspective and interest in architectural angles that characterized his Paris scenes. His last works are still-lifes of his garden at Petit-Gennevilliers. Caillebotte inherited a large fortune from his family, which enabled him to give financial support to his fellow Impressionists and buy their work. He left his collection to the state, and masterpieces by French artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919), Claude Monet (1840–1926) et Edgar Degas (1834–1917) are now exhibited at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.