Caillebotte straddled the line between academic training grounded in full modeling and the avant-garde’s fascination with optical color effects created through broken brushwork, making him an apt bridge between tradition and Impressionism’s emerging innovative spirit.
In addition to his own painting, Gustave Caillebotte was an essential patron who helped organize and underwrite some of the eight foundational Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886. Though later overshadowed by his Impressionist colleagues, Caillebotte’s paintings stand as incisive depictions of contemporary Parisian life through their bold perspectives and focus on middle class leisure activities like boating, conversation, and relaxation. Works like The Floor Scrapers and Paris Street, Rainy Day exhibit his interest in unusual, plunging angles of vision and asymmetrical framing devices lending them a distinctly modern dynamism. Caillebotte straddled the line between academic training grounded in full modeling and the avant-garde’s fascination with optical color effects created through broken brushwork, making him an apt bridge between tradition and Impressionism’s emerging innovative spirit.