Caillebotte – Art Institute of Chicago, USA

Impressionist artist Gustave Caillebotte  (1848–1894)—known and beloved by many Art Institute visitors for his monumental painting Paris Street; Rainy Day—takes center stage in this major exhibition, exploring the very personal interests and relationships that shaped his world.

Caillebotte was unique among his Impressionist peers. At a time when modernity was synonymous with fashionable young women and new forms of entertainment, he focused instead on a more intimate and individualized sphere: his family and friends, his fellow sportsmen, the bourgeois pedestrians strolling in his neighborhood, and the workers who came to his house or whom he observed in the street.

Despite being born into the wealth built by his father, Caillebotte resisted the idleness associated with the leisured class. He was not only an active member of the Impressionist group but also participated in several activities as a high-level amateur, including rowing, gardening, and sailing. In all of his pursuits, Caillebotte gave his all, taking on the role of leader, organizer, and sometimes financier; he also captured these passions in paint, whether documenting the toil of boating, the serenity of tending a plant, or the concentration of a card game.

Caillebotte was equally invested in his personal relationships, both familial and non-familial—and again these relationships, especially with the males he interacted with as son, brother, employer, colleague, and friend—are the focus of many of his artworks.

One sees in multiple paintings his two brothers and other family members as well as a wide circle of friends, often depicted in Caillebotte’s own home—in a favorite chair, by a recognizable window, or on an often-portrayed sofa. Most intimately, and most unusually for the time, Caillebotte also painted nude men in the privacy of their bath.

This exhibition, which opened at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris in October 2024, includes more than 120 works—paintings, works on paper, photographs, and other ephemera from throughout Caillebotte’s career. In addition to recognizable works like Floor Scrapers and the Art Institute’s Paris Street; Rainy Day, the show presents lesser-known but pivotal works like the Musée d’Orsay’s recent acquisition, Boating Party, and the Louvre Abu-Dhabi’s The Bezique Game, as well as many works from private collections that are rarely seen by American audiences.

Together, these works open a new window onto Caillebotte—as a complex figure with many interests, as an Impressionist who painted like no other Impressionist, and as an artist who captured his own, very distinct Paris.

Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World is organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, the musée d’Orsay in Paris, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The exhibition is curated by Gloria Groom, Chair and Winton Green Curator, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, The Art Institute of Chicago; Scott Allan, Curator of Paintings, The J. Paul Getty Museum; and Paul Perrin, Curator and head of conservation and collections, Musée d’Orsay.