From spectacular images of the new public spaces designed under Napoleon III by his prefect Baron Haussmann to visual meditations on leisure-time activities in and around Paris, the works presented will be lent by private collections and a small number of institutions in Europe and the United States.
Organized thematically, the exhibition showcases Caillebotte's fascination with the contemporary lifestyle of the Parisian bourgeoisie, from depictions of interior life, portraits, and still lifes, to urban street views and idyllic river scenes. Many of the works on view were completed between 1875 and 1885, the period in which Caillebotte was most involved with the impressionist movement.
Gustave Caillebotte, The Floor Scrapers, 1875. Oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay. Gift of Caillebotte's heirs through the intermediary of Auguste Renoir© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d'Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
Caillebotte sought to depict contemporary home life in the French capital, such as interior vantage points and views from the inside looking out. The exhibition opens with scenes of work and play set in bourgeois interiors, including A Game of Bezique (1881, Louvre, Abu Dhabi), Young Man Playing the Piano (1876, Bridgestone Museum of Art), and his first important paintingThe Floor Scrapers (1875, Musée d'Orsay). Views from balconies of the new buildings that were part of Haussmann's building project were of particular interest to Caillebotte, including The Rue Halévy, Seen from a Balcony (1878, Joan and Bernard Carl), a completely exterior view, and Interior, Woman at the Window (1880, Private Collection), a view from inside an apartment looking out.
Street views of Paris as revitalized by Haussmann are Caillebotte's most renowned works, including Paris Street, Rainy Day (1877, The Art Institute of Chicago) and The Pont de l'Europe (1876, Petit Palais, Geneva), both of which were included at the impressionist exhibition of 1877.
"Caillebotte grew up in the destruction/construction zone of the 8th arrondissement in Paris, one of the new neighborhoods built during Napoleon III's massive urban renewal project of the 1850s and 1860s. His response to the modern city was quite personal and there is something in his aesthetic that speaks directly to 21st-century urban dwellers," said Mary Morton, exhibition curator and head of French paintings, National Gallery of Art.
Two of Caillebotte's most provocative works — Man at His Bath (1884, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and Nude on a Couch (1880, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts) — will be on view alongside individual portraits of the artist's friends, such as Portrait of Eugéne Daufresne (1878, Private Collection) and Portrait of Richard Gallo (1881, Private Collection). Two rarely seen self-portraits from private collections are also included.
Fruit Displayed on a Stand, about 1881–82; Gustave Caillebotte, oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Caillebotte's still-life paintings are potentially the most revelatory to visitors, from traditional images of dead birds and game (Game Birds and Lemons, 1883, Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield), to decorated foodstuffs (Calf in a Butcher's Shop, c. 1882, Private Collection) and commercial food presentations (Fruit Displayed on a Stand, c. 1881–1882, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). The exhibition concludes with a section on suburban pleasures. River scenes and landscape views — popular themes of the impressionists — include The Yerres, Effect of Rain (1875, Indiana University Art Museum) and Sunflowers, Garden at Petit Gennevilliers (c. 1885, Private Collection).
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