The best aspect of this exhibit for me was the education of exactly who Caillebotte was and how he used his talent to express his understanding of the world around us all. And there was the prominence of paintings from Private collections--over half of them are not on public display. No wonder I didn't understand this artist better.
The Floor Scrapers, 1875 ~ Musee d'Orsey: Paris, France
private collection
This is a lunch in his home not long after the death of his
father. The figures are his mother and servant and his younger brother Rene.
Within 2 years Rene would be dead and shortly there after his mother, too. The
light through the glassware is amazing.
private collection
It stood out to me today, how often he chooses to paint
people from behind. He loves to create a sense of intimacy by structuring his
compositions from a perspective that is participatory. It's not just that you
are seeing a thing. It's that you are standing or sitting right there in that
moment. Can you feel the humidity? The heat of the harsh sun, the slight
respite in the shadow of the awning? And don't you just want to step up a
little closer to see what the gentleman is looking at?
The Pont de l'Europe, 1876 ~ Association des Amis du Petit Palais: Geneva, Switzerland
What the modern eye fails to comprehend in viewing Caillebotte's paintings is their radical depiction of modernity. His paintings of this bridge are so cutting edge and demanding of a response by his contemporaries. I just love the addition of the dog.
Private Collection
A radical perspective for a painting in his time and really a beautiful composition.
Man at His Bath, 1884, Museum of Fine Arts: Boston, USA
This painting was hung on a feature wall dividing the
largest of the 6 galleries. When you turn to enter it this painting slaps you
in the face! While sitting in the previous gallery listening to audio tour, I
noticed a family of tourists enter with others. The parents where mundanely
engaged and the children were bored--listless. As the departed there was a
sudden excited outburst of laughter. I turned to look into the next gallery and
saw this painting there for the first time and both the kids were beside
themselves with childlike reaction to it. Now, wouldn't that just have made
Caillebotte's day?
As he approached his 40's, Caillebotte left Paris for a home
in the country. He bought a home in Petit-Gennevilliers. He
continued to paint even as he pursued his love of rowing and sailing and
cultivated his love of gardening. These paintings come from that period.
L'Yerres, Pluie, 1875, Indiana University Museum of Art: Bloomington, USA
Isn't this wonderfully unusual as a composition?
A Boating Party, 1878, private collection
One of my long standing disappointments with Caillebotte's
work is his lack of accuracy in depicting the human form. He really struggles
with this. And he fails at times in a catastrophic way that diminishes the
composition in its entirety. Worst of all is his awkward portrayal of
perspective. And that is why this painting, made toward the end of his life is
so astounding a triumph to me. There was no hint of who the man was in the
audio annotation. But I think it was Caillebotte himself. Look at the last image
I include. The man on the right in that boat is thought to be himself. He is
wearing the same shirt. It's certainly a reasonable conjecture.
Two later paintings in private collections
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