A wonderful overview! I always loved the Floor Scrapers painting, and had not realized he also painted the rainy Paris scene- quite an oversight. Happy to see more of his works here as well, thank you.
The selection of Caillebotte paintings you’ve brought together here is fascinating, and your observations about angle of vision and use of perspective particularly illuminating. I have never forgotten seeing The Floor Scrapers in person—the subject matter and also the composition, though as to the latter, until you wrote about it here, I hadn’t really understood what made it so compelling. The Rainy Day painting is a long time favorite, and what a coup for the Art Institute! I’ll add one more painting I only recently spotted in following the trail of paintings (and Cartier-Bresson’s iconic photograph) of the Gare St. Lazare: https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-198201 Your commentary here gives me even more appreciation of why this composition works so well.
Also, another art writer here in Substack recently put up a post on the Rainy Day painting. I found his observations on the influence of the then-new art of photography on Caillebotte’s composition really interesting. I’ll see if I can find a link and share it.
Thank you so much for yet another wonderful post, on a marvelous artist!
Thanks as always for the kind words. I loved looking at the Gare St-Lazare images. Every artist and work of art has so many rabbit holes to fall through. Keeping my focus on the topic at hand is always a challenge. I admit to falling through a couple on this project.
I always have trouble cutting my images list to a manageable number but never more than for this post. Caillebotte is my favorite artist, and with the exception of his still lifes showing dead animals and cuts of meat, I love everything he made. Even the dead animals are amazingly painted; they just aren't my taste.
“Every artist and work of art has so many rabbit holes to fall through.” So true! One of many joys of looking at art. Already a fan, I have come to appreciate Caillebotte more and more, and you have sped me even further down that wonderful road, including the additional link. Wonderful!
A wonderful overview! I always loved the Floor Scrapers painting, and had not realized he also painted the rainy Paris scene- quite an oversight. Happy to see more of his works here as well, thank you.
Thanks. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I fell in love with his work as an undergraduate and he remains one of my favorite artists.
The selection of Caillebotte paintings you’ve brought together here is fascinating, and your observations about angle of vision and use of perspective particularly illuminating. I have never forgotten seeing The Floor Scrapers in person—the subject matter and also the composition, though as to the latter, until you wrote about it here, I hadn’t really understood what made it so compelling. The Rainy Day painting is a long time favorite, and what a coup for the Art Institute! I’ll add one more painting I only recently spotted in following the trail of paintings (and Cartier-Bresson’s iconic photograph) of the Gare St. Lazare: https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-198201 Your commentary here gives me even more appreciation of why this composition works so well.
Just for fun, here is my little collection of St. Lazare paintings: https://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/2024/09/22/at-the-railway/
Also, another art writer here in Substack recently put up a post on the Rainy Day painting. I found his observations on the influence of the then-new art of photography on Caillebotte’s composition really interesting. I’ll see if I can find a link and share it.
Thank you so much for yet another wonderful post, on a marvelous artist!
Here’s a link to the post I mentioned: https://open.substack.com/pub/arteveryday/p/gustave-caillebotte-paris-street-076?r=16541&utm_medium=ios
Thanks as always for the kind words. I loved looking at the Gare St-Lazare images. Every artist and work of art has so many rabbit holes to fall through. Keeping my focus on the topic at hand is always a challenge. I admit to falling through a couple on this project.
I always have trouble cutting my images list to a manageable number but never more than for this post. Caillebotte is my favorite artist, and with the exception of his still lifes showing dead animals and cuts of meat, I love everything he made. Even the dead animals are amazingly painted; they just aren't my taste.
Here's a favorite that I had to leave out: https://www.wikiart.org/en/gustave-caillebotte/luncheon-1876
“Every artist and work of art has so many rabbit holes to fall through.” So true! One of many joys of looking at art. Already a fan, I have come to appreciate Caillebotte more and more, and you have sped me even further down that wonderful road, including the additional link. Wonderful!
This made my heart glad. It’s a great essay. I’ll be seeing this in Paris next t week.
Thank you. I envy your opportunity to see this show soon. I hope to see it when it gets to Chicago.