Art Guide · Painters
Gustave Caillebotte
1848–1894
Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894) was a French Impressionist painter and collector who framed the streets of modern Paris almost like photographs. Paris Street; Rainy Day is his most famous work.
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Life
Born into a wealthy Paris family, he studied law and trained as an engineer. On meeting the Impressionists he both exhibited with them and supported the group financially, paying for exhibitions and buying his friends’ works.
He died in 1894, aged 45, leaving his collection to the French state. The state accepted only part of the bequest, but those works now form the core of the Impressionist collection at the Musée d’Orsay.
Style and key works
Caillebotte treated the Impressionists’ modern-life subjects with sharper drawing and bold perspectives. Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877, Art Institute of Chicago) shows Parisians with umbrellas on Haussmann’s new boulevards. The Floor Scrapers (1875) was rejected by the Salon of the day for depicting workers.
Key works
Shop Gustave Caillebotte posters →Frequently asked questions
How did Caillebotte help Impressionism?
He exhibited as a painter, financed the exhibitions and bought his friends’ works; his collection is now a cornerstone of the Musée d’Orsay.
Where is Paris Street; Rainy Day?
At the Art Institute of Chicago.