Gustave Caillebotte: A Man of Many Hats

Born to a wealthy family, he grew up in comfort and was never required to work. Nonetheless, Caillebotte vigorously devoted himself to painting, pursuing his art with the same high level of determination and passion with which he approached all of his endeavors—and he had many. Because he did not need to sell his works, Caillebotte was free to depict any subject that drew his interest, and his myriad passions often found their way into his paintings. His art provides a clear window into his world, one in which he wore many hats: Impressionist, bachelor, gardener, sportsman, collector, and—first and foremost—artist.

Artist

Caillebotte didn’t initially set out to be an artist. He intended to be a lawyer, earning his master’s degree in law in 1870. Before he could begin a law career, however, the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and he was drafted into military service. It was during his year in the military that Caillebotte began painting—as evidenced by two small paintings of soldiers camping in the country, one of which highlights the tough nature of soldier life.  

Caillebotte changed course and enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts, arguably the best art school in Paris. His family was supportive of the decision. His mother and brothers served as models for some of his early work, and his father ordered the construction of an artist’s studio in the family home. Fascinated by the workers planing the wood floors, Caillebotte captured the process of building the studio in his painting Floor Scrapers.

He chose this painting to submit to the Salon, the state-sponsored art exhibition considered to be the only path to success for artists at the time. It was rejected by the jury, and Caillebotte would never submit his work there again. Instead, he aligned himself with the rebellious Impressionists, who were challenging artistic norms.

Impressionist

The first Impressionist exhibition was held in 1874, and Caillebotte likely attended the controversial event. Art critics and the public alike largely disapproved of the Impressionists, but Caillebotte, who had studied in the traditional Academic style, was nonetheless drawn to the group. He first exhibited with them in the second exhibition in 1876 and quickly became close friends with several of the artists, including Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. By the third exhibition in 1877, it became clear that he not only had a passion for painting but curating as well. He became a leader of these exhibitions, finding and renting a space, deciding which artists should be included, helping artists select which of their works to show—even assisting with hanging paintings. 

Caillebotte made sure that his own works were displayed advantageously: his famous Paris Street; Rainy Day—an icon of the Art Institute’s collection—was the star of the show, and he encouraged other artists to submit works that would complement his own. These included a series of views of the Gare Saint-Lazare by Monet that hung alongside Caillebotte’s The Pont de l’Europe, which also featured the train station.

While Caillebotte remained a leader of this group throughout the years, his passionate approach to organizing exhibitions often caused tension between him and the other members, and he gradually tapered off his involvement. 

Bachelor

In the late 1870s, not long after losing his father, Caillebotte prematurely lost his younger brother René and then his mother. He and his other younger brother, Martial, sold the family home and moved to an apartment in a fashionable neighborhood near the Paris Opera. While remaining heavily involved with painting and the Impressionist exhibitions, Caillebotte kept up a thriving social life. His paintings from the 1880s largely depict friends from his upper–middle class social circle, both sitting for portraits in his home and participating in typical activities of single men at the time, including playing cards, frequenting cafés, and people watching from his balcony.

Gardener

After Martial married in 1887, Caillebotte sold their apartment and moved to his suburban property outside of Paris, a large plot of land along the Seine River. He had long been interested in horticulture, having observed the gardeners working at the family’s former country property in Yerres, and he began practicing it at his suburban home, maintaining a large garden and greenhouse of fruits, vegetables, and flowers that became subjects of his painting as well.

Sportsman

Caillebotte’s move to the suburbs also served another purpose: to be closer to the boat races on the Seine. The artist was an avid yachtsman, having gained an appreciation for water sports when he was young, learning to row on the Yerres River. He designed his own yachts and even had a shipyard on his estate where he could oversee their construction.

Caillebotte competed in many regattas, and his prized boat, cheekily named Roastbeef, was a frequent winner. Much of his later painting revolves around sailing—both the boats and his fellow sailors—and the natural setting of these works reveals his full embrace of the Impressionist style.

Collector

Throughout his career, Caillebotte collected the art of his fellow Impressionists. With his wealth, he was able to help friends who were struggling to support their families, including Monet. He also collected art strategically, picking works and artists that he saw as best embodying the Impressionist movement.

Caillebotte wrote his first will when he was only 28 years old and stipulated that his art collection be donated to the French state and displayed in the Louvre. By the time of his death in 1894, Impressionism was still widely considered radical and unappealing, and his donation of paintings and pastels by now-famous artists, including Monet, Renoir, and Degas, was controversial; in the end, only a portion of the works were accepted by the state. This collection would go on to become the basis of the collection of the Musée d’Orsay.

Works from Caillebotte’s Collection

Caillebotte’s collection would overshadow his own art for many years after his death, but over the decades he has been reintroduced to the canon of Impressionism and is now recognized for his own important artistic contributions. 

Caillebotte died at just 45 years old from what is thought to have been a stroke. The art critic Gustave Geffroy eulogized him this way:

Caillebotte truly had conviction in him, and what he leaves surpasses the occupation of the amateur. He could have taken painting just as an excuse for the interludes of his life, and given himself the easy luxury and uselessness of a superficial painter. He was a master of his time, sure of tomorrow, and he had a passion for gardening and boats. All the same, he applied himself to the labor of painting. 

Experience the fruits of this labor—and the artist’s many hats—through the works on view in Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World, opening to members June 26.

Sponsors

Lead support for Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World is generously provided by the John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Family Foundation.

Lead Corporate Sponsor

Major support is provided by the Butler Family Foundation, Richard F. and Christine F. Karger, Loretta and Allan Kaplan, an anonymous donor, Diane M. Tkach and James F. Freundt, Margot Levin Schiff and the Harold Schiff Foundation, Jane Woldenberg, Julie and Roger Baskes, the Hickey Family Foundation, the Jentes Family, and the Reed Family Foundation.

Additional support is contributed by an anonymous donor, the Jack and Peggy Crowe Fund, the Suzanne and Wesley M. Dixon Exhibition Fund, and The Regenstein Foundation Fund.

Members of the Luminary Trust provide annual leadership support for the museum’s operations, including exhibition development, conservation and collection care, and educational programming. The Luminary Trust includes an anonymous donor, Karen Gray-Krehbiel and John Krehbiel, Jr., Kenneth C. Griffin, the Harris Family Foundation in memory of Bette and Neison Harris, Josef and Margot Lakonishok, Ann and Samuel M. Mencoff, Sylvia Neil and Dan Fischel, Cari and Michael J. Sacks, and the Earl and Brenda Shapiro Foundation.

This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Topics

• Exhibitions
• European Painting and Sculpture
• Impressionism