Gustave CAILLEBOTTE (1848-1894)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Paris
Chronology : 1870-1879 1877 1878 1880 1881 1884 1885
See also : Paris
Chronology : 1870-1879 1877 1878 1880 1881 1884 1885
Intro
Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894), a French Impressionist painter and patron, offers rich material for psychological interpretation through his life experiences and distinctive art. Born into a wealthy upper-class Parisian family, he enjoyed financial independence that freed him from commercial pressures but coincided with profound personal losses: his father died in 1874, younger brother René in 1876, and mother in 1878. These events left him and surviving brother Martial to share the fortune, potentially fostering themes of transience, isolation, and melancholy in his work.
Caillebotte never married and remained a bachelor, living much of his life with family or in male-dominated circles (e.g., among Impressionist friends and in pursuits like boating and gardening). Recent scholarship, including the 2024–2025 exhibition Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men (Musée d’Orsay, Getty, Art Institute of Chicago), explores his focus on male subjects—brothers, friends, workers, rowers—as reflecting complex masculinity, homosocial bonds, and possible homoerotic undercurrents. While no definitive evidence confirms his sexuality, his depictions of men (often semi-nude or in intimate settings) deviate from norms where female nudes dominated, inviting interpretations of repressed desire, admiration for working-class virility, or identity exploration in a repressive era.
Themes in His Art
His paintings blend Realism's precision with Impressionism's light and modernity, often conveying psychological depth:
Gustave Caillebotte’s perspective techniques are among the most distinctive and innovative aspects of his oeuvre. Trained academically yet aligned with the Impressionists, he blended rigorous linear perspective with dramatic exaggerations, photographic cropping, and influences from engineering, photography, and Japanese prints. This created a sense of spatial tension, depth, and modern alienation that sets him apart from the looser, more optical approach of Monet or Renoir.
Core Techniques
Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877): Monumental composition uses converging cobblestones, building lines, and pavements for deep recession. The wide-angle effect expands the intersection while figures feel life-sized and immediate.
Caillebotte was methodical: he created detailed preparatory drawings, transferred architectural perspectives with tools (e.g., for vanishing points in Rainy Day), and squared studies from photos. His engineering background contributed to precise mathematical planning.
Effects and Significance
Caillebotte never married and remained a bachelor, living much of his life with family or in male-dominated circles (e.g., among Impressionist friends and in pursuits like boating and gardening). Recent scholarship, including the 2024–2025 exhibition Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men (Musée d’Orsay, Getty, Art Institute of Chicago), explores his focus on male subjects—brothers, friends, workers, rowers—as reflecting complex masculinity, homosocial bonds, and possible homoerotic undercurrents. While no definitive evidence confirms his sexuality, his depictions of men (often semi-nude or in intimate settings) deviate from norms where female nudes dominated, inviting interpretations of repressed desire, admiration for working-class virility, or identity exploration in a repressive era.
Themes in His Art
His paintings blend Realism's precision with Impressionism's light and modernity, often conveying psychological depth:
- Urban Alienation and Melancholy — Caillebotte's Haussmann-era Paris scenes emphasize emotional distance despite physical proximity. Figures appear disconnected, gazing outward or lost in thought, suggesting loneliness in the modern city.
- Voyeurism and Observation — Frequent balcony/window motifs position viewers (and subjects) as detached observers, implying psychological barriers or yearning for connection.
- Male Bodies and Homoeroticism — Works like laborers or bathers highlight muscular forms with sensual lighting, interpreted as fascination with male physicality or subversive desire.
- Rural Escape — Later works shift to serene countryside scenes (e.g., rowing, gardens), perhaps reflecting a psychological retreat from urban alienation toward tranquility.
Gustave Caillebotte’s perspective techniques are among the most distinctive and innovative aspects of his oeuvre. Trained academically yet aligned with the Impressionists, he blended rigorous linear perspective with dramatic exaggerations, photographic cropping, and influences from engineering, photography, and Japanese prints. This created a sense of spatial tension, depth, and modern alienation that sets him apart from the looser, more optical approach of Monet or Renoir.
Core Techniques
- Linear (One- or Two-Point) Perspective with Exaggeration
Caillebotte adhered to traditional Renaissance rules but stretched them for dramatic effect. Orthogonal lines (buildings, streets, floorboards, tables) converge sharply, often to a single vanishing point, funneling the viewer’s eye deep into the scene and elongating space. This “elastic” or exaggerated perspective makes roads, bridges, and floors appear to rush toward the viewer.
Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877): Monumental composition uses converging cobblestones, building lines, and pavements for deep recession. The wide-angle effect expands the intersection while figures feel life-sized and immediate.
- Foreshortening and Tilted Planes
Tables, floors, and bridges tilt dramatically (e.g., the lozenge-shaped table in Le Déjeuner). This collapses pictorial space, creates psychological distance, and emphasizes surfaces—often linking them metaphorically to the canvas itself. - High and Elevated Viewpoints
Balcony scenes (Boulevard Viewed from Above, Rue Halévy) offer bird’s-eye or high-angle views that abstract the city into geometric patterns, highlighting Haussmann’s uniformity. - Photographic Influences
Though he did not take photos himself, his brother Martial was a photographer, and Caillebotte used photos for studies. Effects include:
– Cropped figures and unexpected viewpoints (as if caught mid-motion).
– Wide-angle lens distortion for exaggerated depth.
– Sharp foreground focus with softer backgrounds, or vice versa.
– Frozen moments and reflections (wet cobblestones in Rainy Day). - Japanese Prints (Japonisme)
High horizons, asymmetrical compositions, and radical cropping echo ukiyo-e woodblocks, adding dynamism and flattening space selectively.
Caillebotte was methodical: he created detailed preparatory drawings, transferred architectural perspectives with tools (e.g., for vanishing points in Rainy Day), and squared studies from photos. His engineering background contributed to precise mathematical planning.
Effects and Significance
- Immersion and Alienation: Viewers feel plunged into the scene yet detached—elegant Parisians coexist but remain isolated.
- Modernity: These techniques mirror Haussmann’s engineered Paris (broad vistas, geometry) and the fast-paced urban experience.
- Bridge Between Traditions: Precise academic structure + modern subjects and Impressionist light. Critics noted the “truth” but sometimes found the perspectives “crude” or imbalanced.
masterpiece
1875 Raboteurs
Musée d'Orsay
Born in Paris to a family of wealthy bourgeois, Gustave Caillebotte graduated in law but could manage his life like a spare time. He took an interest in painting and made many friends in the avant-gardes. He was a keen visitor in 1874 of the exhibition afterward known as the Première exposition des peintres impressionnistes.
The young artists were innovating in the brush stroke, but also in the themes. Monet managed to display some instantaneous views of daily realism that went against the expectations of the official Salons. Un Coin d'appartement, painted by Monet in 1875, was acquired by Caillebotte whom it certainly deeply influenced.
In 1876 Caillebotte is invited to participate in the Seconde exposition des peintres impressionnistes. He hangs eight paintings including his masterpiece Les Raboteurs de parquet that does not feature the bourgeois but an instantaneous of three workers preparing the floor in a bourgeois apartment, undisturbed by the painter. This picture had of course been refused by the Salon for its ordinary theme in the previous year.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Gustave Caillebotte’s labor scenes are among his most groundbreaking contributions to modern art. Unlike many Impressionists who focused on leisure, landscapes, or bourgeois life, he depicted urban working-class men engaged in manual labor with dignity, physicality, and precise realism. These works, mostly from the mid-1870s, highlight his interest in “manly” effort, class dynamics, and analogies between workers’ labor and his own painterly process.
Iconic Work: Les Raboteurs de parquet (The Floor Scrapers, 1875)
This is Caillebotte’s most famous labor painting and one of his masterpieces (102 × 146.5 cm, Musée d’Orsay). It shows three semi-nude workers scraping and planing a parquet floor in the family’s Parisian apartment (likely his studio on rue de Miromesnil). The men strain with muscular torsos, tools in hand, shavings scattered across the floor; one reaches for a tool in the background.
Key features: Dramatic foreshortened perspective makes the floor rush toward the viewer. Strong modeling of bodies draws from academic tradition, while the modern subject (urban proletariat) shocked Salon jurors, who rejected it in 1875 for its “vulgarity.” Exhibited at the 1876 Impressionist show alongside Le Déjeuner.
Significance: One of the first major paintings of urban (not rural) workers. Caillebotte identifies analogically with their manual labor—his brushwork parallels their scraping of surfaces. It explores his bourgeois wealth’s dependence on others’ toil while romanticizing physical, coordinated male effort.
He painted a second, smaller version in 1876 (more clothed, different angle, reflective floor).
The House Painters (Les Peintres en bâtiment, 1877)
This outdoor scene shows workers painting a shop façade on a Paris street. One stands on a ladder, another on the ground looks up, with tools and urban architecture framing the composition.
It parallels Floor Scrapers by showing productive labor that maintains bourgeois Paris (Haussmannian buildings). Caillebotte again draws parallels to artistic work—the painters examine their “canvas” (the wall) much like he does his own.
Other Labor-Related Works
The young artists were innovating in the brush stroke, but also in the themes. Monet managed to display some instantaneous views of daily realism that went against the expectations of the official Salons. Un Coin d'appartement, painted by Monet in 1875, was acquired by Caillebotte whom it certainly deeply influenced.
In 1876 Caillebotte is invited to participate in the Seconde exposition des peintres impressionnistes. He hangs eight paintings including his masterpiece Les Raboteurs de parquet that does not feature the bourgeois but an instantaneous of three workers preparing the floor in a bourgeois apartment, undisturbed by the painter. This picture had of course been refused by the Salon for its ordinary theme in the previous year.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Gustave Caillebotte’s labor scenes are among his most groundbreaking contributions to modern art. Unlike many Impressionists who focused on leisure, landscapes, or bourgeois life, he depicted urban working-class men engaged in manual labor with dignity, physicality, and precise realism. These works, mostly from the mid-1870s, highlight his interest in “manly” effort, class dynamics, and analogies between workers’ labor and his own painterly process.
Iconic Work: Les Raboteurs de parquet (The Floor Scrapers, 1875)
This is Caillebotte’s most famous labor painting and one of his masterpieces (102 × 146.5 cm, Musée d’Orsay). It shows three semi-nude workers scraping and planing a parquet floor in the family’s Parisian apartment (likely his studio on rue de Miromesnil). The men strain with muscular torsos, tools in hand, shavings scattered across the floor; one reaches for a tool in the background.
Key features: Dramatic foreshortened perspective makes the floor rush toward the viewer. Strong modeling of bodies draws from academic tradition, while the modern subject (urban proletariat) shocked Salon jurors, who rejected it in 1875 for its “vulgarity.” Exhibited at the 1876 Impressionist show alongside Le Déjeuner.
Significance: One of the first major paintings of urban (not rural) workers. Caillebotte identifies analogically with their manual labor—his brushwork parallels their scraping of surfaces. It explores his bourgeois wealth’s dependence on others’ toil while romanticizing physical, coordinated male effort.
He painted a second, smaller version in 1876 (more clothed, different angle, reflective floor).
The House Painters (Les Peintres en bâtiment, 1877)
This outdoor scene shows workers painting a shop façade on a Paris street. One stands on a ladder, another on the ground looks up, with tools and urban architecture framing the composition.
It parallels Floor Scrapers by showing productive labor that maintains bourgeois Paris (Haussmannian buildings). Caillebotte again draws parallels to artistic work—the painters examine their “canvas” (the wall) much like he does his own.
Other Labor-Related Works
- Boaters and rowers (e.g., Boaters Rowing on the Yerres, c. 1877): While often recreational, these depict physical exertion on the water, with strong, focused male bodies—extending his interest in masculine labor/effort into leisure contexts.
- Broader themes appear in interiors and urban scenes where servants or background figures perform service labor, tying into Le Déjeuner.
- Focus on Male Bodies and Effort: Muscular, unidealized torsos and hands emphasize physical strain and coordination—contrasting with female labor depictions by Degas or Cassatt.
- Perspective and Modernity: Bold angles, cropping, and light effects blend realism with Impressionist concerns, often in domestic or street settings tied to Haussmann’s Paris.
- Personal and Social Context: Painted after inheriting wealth, these works reflect Caillebotte’s ambivalence about class, his identification with “work” (as painter and patron), and a desire to portray modern urban reality without overt moralizing.
- Reception: They helped define his distinctive voice within Impressionism—more structured and psychologically grounded than Monet or Renoir—while bridging realism and modernism.
1876 Jeune Homme à sa Fenêtre
2021 SOLD for $ 53M by Christie's
Another scene exhibited by Caillebotte at the Seconde exposition is Jeune Homme à sa fenêtre, mingling the keen interests of the artist for his family and for the bourgeois comfort of the districts recently rebuilt by Haussmann. It features his younger brother René from back, standing at the balcony of the family's apartment to have a look towards the rue de Miromesnil and its sparse pedestrians.
This oil on canvas 116 x 81 cm painted in 1876 was sold for $ 53M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 23C. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The sun bathed rue de Miromesnil is rendered here in a highly realistic brush stroke. Now entered in the Impressionniste group, Caillebotte will then keenly use their style of painting and be instrumental in promoting their exhibitions.
L'Homme au balcon boulevard Haussmann, oil on canvas 117 x 90 cm painted in 1880, is a similar composition from an elevated point executed with an impressionist brushstroke in the trees. It has been sold for $ 14.3M by Christie's on May 8, 2000, lot 8.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 12, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Gustave Caillebotte's (1848-1894) 'Jeune homme à sa fenêtre' realized $53,030,000 at auction, setting a #WorldAuctionRecord for the artist.
This oil on canvas 116 x 81 cm painted in 1876 was sold for $ 53M by Christie's on November 11, 2021, lot 23C. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The sun bathed rue de Miromesnil is rendered here in a highly realistic brush stroke. Now entered in the Impressionniste group, Caillebotte will then keenly use their style of painting and be instrumental in promoting their exhibitions.
L'Homme au balcon boulevard Haussmann, oil on canvas 117 x 90 cm painted in 1880, is a similar composition from an elevated point executed with an impressionist brushstroke in the trees. It has been sold for $ 14.3M by Christie's on May 8, 2000, lot 8.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 12, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Gustave Caillebotte's (1848-1894) 'Jeune homme à sa fenêtre' realized $53,030,000 at auction, setting a #WorldAuctionRecord for the artist.
- The painting "Jeune homme à la fenêtre" by Gustave Caillebotte, auctioned for $53,030,000 in 2021, depicts his brother René from behind, a poignant detail given René's death months later, reflecting the artist's early exploration of urban realism and perspective, as noted in a 2023 Getty Museum study on Impressionist emotional depth.
- This record-breaking sale surpassed the previous high of $22 million for Caillebotte’s work, signaling a 141% value surge in four years, a trend supported by a 2022 Art Basel report attributing such spikes to growing demand for overlooked Impressionist works amid global economic uncertainty.
- The artwork’s 1876 debut at the Impressionist exhibition, alongside the controversial "Les Raboteurs de parquet," challenged Salon norms, a move later validated by art historians who, in a 2024 JSTOR analysis, credit Caillebotte with bridging Romanticism and modern urban themes.
1876 Le Déjeuner
2026 for sale on May 18 by Christie's
Le Déjeuner (Luncheon, 1876) by Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894) is a small but significant oil on canvas (52.2 × 76 cm), signed and dated lower right, estimated $ 5.5M for sale by Christie's on May 18, 2026, lot 54A, from the artist's family collection (first time on the market). It depicts an intimate domestic scene in the Caillebotte family's Parisian hôtel particulier on rue de Miromesnil. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Key Features
Breakthrough Aspects
Painted in 1875–1876, Le Déjeuner belongs to Caillebotte's early burst of major works after his father's death left him financially independent. It was exhibited at the second Impressionist exhibition (1876) alongside Les Raboteurs de parquet and Jeune homme au piano. Critics noted its "truth" and "frank intimacy," though some found it crude.
This period marked his shift from Salon aspirations (his Floor Scrapers was rejected in 1875) to full alignment with the Impressionists. The painting demonstrates his innovative handling of perspective and psychological depth in domestic interiors—pushing beyond pure optical Impressionism toward structured, modern realism. Preparatory studies (e.g., detailed hand sketches for René) show his methodical approach to gesture and labor (even in eating).
Significance in Caillebotte's Career
Le Déjeuner (Luncheon, 1876) and Les Raboteurs de parquet (The Floor Scrapers, 1875) are two of Gustave Caillebotte’s most iconic early works, both exhibited together at the second Impressionist exhibition in 1876. They represent complementary sides of his artistic vision during a breakthrough period.
Similarities
Together, these paintings form a diptych-like exploration of Caillebotte’s divided world: the labor that maintains bourgeois comfort versus the emotional emptiness within it. They showcase his unique blend of realism, perspective innovation, and modern psychological insight — distinguishing him from looser Impressionist styles while bridging academic tradition and avant-garde subjects. Floor Scrapers launched his public notoriety; Le Déjeuner deepens the interior, personal dimension that recurs in his oeuvre. Both highlight his ambivalence toward class, work, and modernity.
Key Features
- Composition and Perspective: The painting shows the artist's mother (Céleste, in mourning for her husband who died in 1874), his younger brother René, and the family butler (Jean Daurelle) serving a two-course meal. Caillebotte uses a tilted, elongated table (distorted into a lozenge shape rather than round) that pitches dramatically toward the viewer, collapsing the picture plane with the depicted surfaces. This creates a sense of spatial tension and psychological distance.
- Lighting and Details: Backlit by a window with lace curtains, the figures' faces are partially obscured in shadow, while crystal glassware, silver, and table settings sparkle with reflected light. The bourgeois interior is richly detailed—opulent furnishings, abundant food and objects—highlighting material plenitude against emotional restraint.
- Mood and Themes: A heavy silence and awkwardness dominate; the figures appear isolated despite sharing a meal. René focuses intently on his plate, hands gripping utensils with notable force. This conveys bourgeois alienation, the weight of social conventions, and the contrast between leisure/consumption and underlying tension. It pairs thematically with Caillebotte's Les Raboteurs de parquet (The Floor Scrapers, 1875), shown alongside it in 1876.
Breakthrough Aspects
Painted in 1875–1876, Le Déjeuner belongs to Caillebotte's early burst of major works after his father's death left him financially independent. It was exhibited at the second Impressionist exhibition (1876) alongside Les Raboteurs de parquet and Jeune homme au piano. Critics noted its "truth" and "frank intimacy," though some found it crude.
This period marked his shift from Salon aspirations (his Floor Scrapers was rejected in 1875) to full alignment with the Impressionists. The painting demonstrates his innovative handling of perspective and psychological depth in domestic interiors—pushing beyond pure optical Impressionism toward structured, modern realism. Preparatory studies (e.g., detailed hand sketches for René) show his methodical approach to gesture and labor (even in eating).
Significance in Caillebotte's Career
- Early Mastery and Identity Exploration: As one of his best-known early masterpieces, it captures his ambivalent relationship to his wealthy bourgeois roots. Themes of isolation amid abundance recur in his interiors, contrasting with his depictions of working-class labor or urban Paris. It reflects his "work at leisure" motif, linking manual activity (eating, serving) to his own painterly labor.
- Impressionist Involvement: It solidified his role not just as a painter but as a key organizer, promoter, and patron. He supported Monet, Renoir, and others financially while contributing distinctive works focused on modern Paris, interiors, and male figures.
- Legacy: Frequently exhibited and catalogued (e.g., in major retrospectives at the Art Institute of Chicago, National Gallery of Art, Musée d'Orsay), it highlights Caillebotte's unique position—more precise and psychologically acute than many Impressionists, bridging realism and modernism. His early death at 45 and focus on collecting initially overshadowed his painting; 20th-century rediscovery elevated pieces like this.
Le Déjeuner (Luncheon, 1876) and Les Raboteurs de parquet (The Floor Scrapers, 1875) are two of Gustave Caillebotte’s most iconic early works, both exhibited together at the second Impressionist exhibition in 1876. They represent complementary sides of his artistic vision during a breakthrough period.
Similarities
- Shared Setting and Personal Context: Both paintings are set in the Caillebotte family’s Parisian hôtel particulier on rue de Miromesnil. Floor Scrapers shows workers preparing the floor of what was likely the artist’s studio or home space; Le Déjeuner depicts an intimate family meal in the same bourgeois interior.
- Bold Perspective and Spatial Tension: Caillebotte employs dramatic, tilted perspectives in both. In Floor Scrapers, the floorboards rush toward the viewer with strong foreshortening. In Le Déjeuner, the elongated table pitches forward like a lozenge, collapsing pictorial space and creating psychological distance. This technique reflects his engineering background and interest in photography.
- Themes of Work and Alienation: Both explore “work” — manual labor in one, the ritual of bourgeois consumption/leisure in the other. Scholars note parallels in tense, focused bodies and hands (workers’ muscles vs. family members gripping utensils). They foreground Caillebotte’s own painterly labor through analogies: tool-to-surface action (scraper to floor / brush to canvas) and surface fusion (floor/canvas, table/canvas).
- Light and Realism: Strong backlighting from windows highlights reflections (glassware/silver in Déjeuner; polished wood and shavings in Floor Scrapers). Both blend academic precision (detailed drawing, modeling) with modern subjects and Impressionist light effects.
- Career Milestone: Painted right after his father’s death (financial independence), they mark his rejection by the official Salon (Floor Scrapers in 1875) and full embrace of the Impressionist circle. They were shown together in 1876, solidifying his reputation.
- Subject and Class Dynamics: Floor Scrapers (larger scale: 102 × 146.5 cm) depicts semi-nude working-class men in physical, productive labor — an innovative, “vulgar” urban worker scene that shocked Salon jurors. Le Déjeuner (smaller: 52.2 × 76 cm) shows the artist’s own bourgeois family (mother in mourning, brother René, butler) in silent, awkward consumption amid material abundance. One is proletarian production; the other is bourgeois leisure.
- Mood and Sociability: Floor Scrapers conveys coordinated effort, physicality, and implied workplace camaraderie (even if the artist, as owner, remains apart). Le Déjeuner is heavy with isolation and emotional restraint — figures divided by the distorted table, faces shadowed, heavy silence despite shared space. It amplifies alienation within the very class Caillebotte inherited.
- Scale, Focus, and Reception: Floor Scrapers is more monumental and body-focused (heroic yet unidealized male nudes drew criticism for “vulgarity”). Le Déjeuner is intimate, object-rich, and psychologically introspective, highlighting bourgeois conventions and restraint. The former was rejected by the Salon; both gained attention among Impressionists.
- Personal Projection: In Floor Scrapers, Caillebotte identifies analogically with manual labor and “manly sociability.” In Le Déjeuner, the empty place setting or viewer’s position may symbolize his own exclusion/alienation from family dynamics.
Together, these paintings form a diptych-like exploration of Caillebotte’s divided world: the labor that maintains bourgeois comfort versus the emotional emptiness within it. They showcase his unique blend of realism, perspective innovation, and modern psychological insight — distinguishing him from looser Impressionist styles while bridging academic tradition and avant-garde subjects. Floor Scrapers launched his public notoriety; Le Déjeuner deepens the interior, personal dimension that recurs in his oeuvre. Both highlight his ambivalence toward class, work, and modernity.
Le Pont de l'Europe
Intro
Paris is completely transformed during the Second Empire. For security reasons, Napoléon III entrusted to Haussmann the gigantic task of ridding the city from its dense pattern of unhealthy streets. Haussmann cuts into the urban fabric to create wide and straight avenues, lined with tall buildings on a unique model with long balconies.
Born in Paris in 1848, Gustave Caillebotte knew and appreciated such a breakthrough. In 1875 the young artist became an Impressionniste after his resentment of the Salon's rejection of a too social painting. He has the imagination for finding new themes.
Another wonder of the time is the railroad. In 1876 Caillebotte paints two views of the pont de l'Europe, a very long railway viaduct completed in 1868 with a prominent truss that connects to the Gare Saint-Lazare. These views are in full opposition from one another in terms of composition and color.
Monet devoted the winter of 1877 to his series of paintings of this station, the terminus of the line that led him to Argenteuil. He worked from an apartment of which Caillebotte paid the rent.
Born in Paris in 1848, Gustave Caillebotte knew and appreciated such a breakthrough. In 1875 the young artist became an Impressionniste after his resentment of the Salon's rejection of a too social painting. He has the imagination for finding new themes.
Another wonder of the time is the railroad. In 1876 Caillebotte paints two views of the pont de l'Europe, a very long railway viaduct completed in 1868 with a prominent truss that connects to the Gare Saint-Lazare. These views are in full opposition from one another in terms of composition and color.
Monet devoted the winter of 1877 to his series of paintings of this station, the terminus of the line that led him to Argenteuil. He worked from an apartment of which Caillebotte paid the rent.
1
masterpiece
1876 (summer)
Musée du Petit Palais, Genève
The summer view, oil on canvas 125 x 180 cm, was showed in 1877 at the 3rd Impressionist exhibition. It was preceded by at least six oil sketches. It displays a bright sun light.
Le Pont de l’Europe (1876–77)
Depicts the iron railway bridge over the Seine near Gare Saint-Lazare. A well-dressed couple walks forward, a worker leans on the railing, and a dog trots along. Strong geometric iron girders contrast with the cityscape, creating dynamic spatial tension and shadows.
It celebrates modern engineering while juxtaposing classes (bourgeois vs. laborer) and directions of movement.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Le Pont de l’Europe (1876–77)
Depicts the iron railway bridge over the Seine near Gare Saint-Lazare. A well-dressed couple walks forward, a worker leans on the railing, and a dog trots along. Strong geometric iron girders contrast with the cityscape, creating dynamic spatial tension and shadows.
It celebrates modern engineering while juxtaposing classes (bourgeois vs. laborer) and directions of movement.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
2
for reference
1876-1877 Sur le Pont de l'Europe (winter)
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth TX
A close view of the truss, oil on canvas 106 x 130 cm in a nearly monochromatic grey and blue, was painted by Caillebotte in 1876, or in early 1877 while Monet was making his series.
An utmost attention is brought to the details of the metalwork. Two bourgeois look at the station through the metallic structure while another man is walking, already half out of view. They are dressed for chilling cold. The steam of a train is visible in the background. The characters and the structure are cropped.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
An utmost attention is brought to the details of the metalwork. Two bourgeois look at the station through the metallic structure while another man is walking, already half out of view. They are dressed for chilling cold. The steam of a train is visible in the background. The characters and the structure are cropped.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
3
1876-1877 sketch
2018 SOLD for $ 8.2M by Christie's
Only one oil sketch is known for the winter view. This highly finished painting in more of half size is certainly the final sketch. This oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm was sold by Christie's for $ 4.4M on November 6, 2002, lot 26 and for $ 8.2M on May 15, 2018, lot 23A.
masterpiece
1877 Rue de Paris, temps de pluie
Art Institute of Chicago
Gustave Caillebotte’s urban Paris scenes form one of the most distinctive bodies of work in Impressionist art. Painted primarily in the mid-to-late 1870s, they capture Haussmann’s newly rebuilt modern city — wide boulevards, uniform stone buildings, iron bridges, and bustling bourgeois life — with a precision and psychological detachment that set him apart from looser Impressionist styles.
His approach combines academic realism (sharp drawing, detailed modeling) with modern subjects, dramatic perspectives, and photographic cropping, often evoking isolation amid urban crowds.
Iconic Works
Paris Street; Rainy Day (Rue de Paris, temps de pluie, 1877)
Caillebotte’s masterpiece and largest work (212.2 × 276.2 cm, Art Institute of Chicago). It depicts a wide intersection near Gare Saint-Lazare (now Place de Dublin), shortly after heavy rain. Life-size figures in fashionable attire walk under umbrellas on glistening cobblestones, with Haussmannian buildings receding at sharp angles.
Key features: Exaggerated perspective (buildings and pavement rush toward the viewer), cropped figures suggesting movement and photography, subtle reflections on wet surfaces instead of literal raindrops, and a sense of anonymity — elegant Parisians coexist but remain detached.
Today, works like Paris Street; Rainy Day remain among the most recognizable images of 19th-century Paris, embodying the energy, elegance, and subtle unease of the emerging modern metropolis.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
His approach combines academic realism (sharp drawing, detailed modeling) with modern subjects, dramatic perspectives, and photographic cropping, often evoking isolation amid urban crowds.
Iconic Works
Paris Street; Rainy Day (Rue de Paris, temps de pluie, 1877)
Caillebotte’s masterpiece and largest work (212.2 × 276.2 cm, Art Institute of Chicago). It depicts a wide intersection near Gare Saint-Lazare (now Place de Dublin), shortly after heavy rain. Life-size figures in fashionable attire walk under umbrellas on glistening cobblestones, with Haussmannian buildings receding at sharp angles.
Key features: Exaggerated perspective (buildings and pavement rush toward the viewer), cropped figures suggesting movement and photography, subtle reflections on wet surfaces instead of literal raindrops, and a sense of anonymity — elegant Parisians coexist but remain detached.
Today, works like Paris Street; Rainy Day remain among the most recognizable images of 19th-century Paris, embodying the energy, elegance, and subtle unease of the emerging modern metropolis.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1877 Les Jardiniers
2022 SOLD for $ 7M by Christie's
The bourgeois required the services of workmen for their life in the city and in their leisure residence. Caillebotte observed the men at work and the details of the gesture.
Les Raboteurs (floor planers) is an early example, executed in 1875.
Painted in 1877 in the walled kitchen garden of the family home at Yerres, Les Jardiniers is its counterpart in the countryside. A bare footed man is watering well aligned lettuces with two cans while a helper is waiting for bringing to him two filled cans.
The view includes many details of the well maintained garden in late spring, including a row of cloches for the melons, the glazed chests with sloping rooves, the trellis for fruit trees.
Les Jardiniers, oil on canvas 90 x 117 cm, was sold for $ 7M by Christie's on November 17, 2022, lot 58. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Les Raboteurs (floor planers) is an early example, executed in 1875.
Painted in 1877 in the walled kitchen garden of the family home at Yerres, Les Jardiniers is its counterpart in the countryside. A bare footed man is watering well aligned lettuces with two cans while a helper is waiting for bringing to him two filled cans.
The view includes many details of the well maintained garden in late spring, including a row of cloches for the melons, the glazed chests with sloping rooves, the trellis for fruit trees.
Les Jardiniers, oil on canvas 90 x 117 cm, was sold for $ 7M by Christie's on November 17, 2022, lot 58. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1877 Monsieur R
2022 SOLD for £ 6.7M by Sotheby's
From 1860 the wealthy Caillebotte family had a summer residence in Yerres in a neo-Palladian villa that had belonged to Biennais. In this village known in period for his leisure activities, they enjoyed canoeing on the eponymous Yerres river. Gustave executed outdoors nearly 80 landscape painting at Yerres in the 1870s.
He used to make family portraits. Painted in 1877, his portrait of Monsieur R. is an exception. The fellow is comfortably relaxing in a sofa in an interior setting which was probably the Caillebotte's salon. The tissue of the sofa, cushion and wall coverings are elegantly matching.
Apart his family name which was Reyre, no information remains about this man which was probably a leisure friend of the family. A pastel executed in the same year of the same man, recognizable by his narrow cheeks and pointed chin, features him in an incongruous city attire while canoeing on the river with a typical boater.
The Portrait de Monsieur R, oil on canvas 81 x 105 cm, was featured on the wall in an 1878 pastel. It was exhibited in 1879 at the 4th exposition impressionniste and was purchased by Mr Reyre to the artist. It was sold for £ 6.7M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Sotheby's on March 2, 2022, lot 126. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
He used to make family portraits. Painted in 1877, his portrait of Monsieur R. is an exception. The fellow is comfortably relaxing in a sofa in an interior setting which was probably the Caillebotte's salon. The tissue of the sofa, cushion and wall coverings are elegantly matching.
Apart his family name which was Reyre, no information remains about this man which was probably a leisure friend of the family. A pastel executed in the same year of the same man, recognizable by his narrow cheeks and pointed chin, features him in an incongruous city attire while canoeing on the river with a typical boater.
The Portrait de Monsieur R, oil on canvas 81 x 105 cm, was featured on the wall in an 1878 pastel. It was exhibited in 1879 at the 4th exposition impressionniste and was purchased by Mr Reyre to the artist. It was sold for £ 6.7M from a lower estimate of £ 4M by Sotheby's on March 2, 2022, lot 126. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Special Report
Organizer of Impressionnisme
Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894) played a multifaceted and indispensable role in the Impressionist movement as a painter, organizer, financial patron, and collector—often described as one of its key "unsung heroes" or "saviors." While his own paintings are now highly regarded, his support was crucial to the group's survival and visibility in the 1870s and 1880s.
Painter and Exhibitor
Caillebotte’s financial independence allowed him to prioritize artistic integrity over commercial success. His organizational skills, purchases, and bequest helped sustain Impressionism through difficult years and ensured its place in art history. Though long overshadowed by his patronage, his own paintings have gained renewed appreciation through major retrospectives since the 1970s.
He embodied the movement’s spirit of modernity while providing the practical backbone that allowed more financially strained artists like Monet to continue innovating.
Painter and Exhibitor
- Caillebotte joined the Impressionists for five of their eight group exhibitions (starting with the second in 1876). He showed a total of around 72 works, including major pieces like The Floor Scrapers (1875) and Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877).
- His style blended Realism (precise drawing, academic modeling, modern urban subjects) with Impressionist elements (vibrant color, light effects, loose brushwork in later works). He often depicted male figures, Parisian streets, boating scenes, and domestic interiors with a distinctive, almost photographic perspective.
- Wealthy from his family's inheritance, Caillebotte became a driving force behind the exhibitions. He secured venues, curated selections, helped hang paintings, financed publicity, and mediated conflicts among the artists.
- The Third Impressionist Exhibition (1877) is often credited to his efforts—it was a pivotal show that helped solidify the movement's identity.
- He actively purchased works by his friends (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Cézanne, Degas, Sisley, Morisot, and others), sometimes to support them directly or at auctions. He even rented studio space for Monet.
- His personal collection of over 70 Impressionist masterpieces formed the core of what is now the Musée d’Orsay’s holdings. Upon his death, he bequeathed it to the French state (the controversial "Caillebotte Bequest"). After initial resistance, a significant portion was accepted in 1896–1897, marking the first major public display of Impressionism in France and helping legitimize the movement.
Caillebotte’s financial independence allowed him to prioritize artistic integrity over commercial success. His organizational skills, purchases, and bequest helped sustain Impressionism through difficult years and ensured its place in art history. Though long overshadowed by his patronage, his own paintings have gained renewed appreciation through major retrospectives since the 1970s.
He embodied the movement’s spirit of modernity while providing the practical backbone that allowed more financially strained artists like Monet to continue innovating.
1878 La Rue Halévy
2019 SOLD for $ 14M by Sotheby's
Paris is experiencing cultural transformations. Inaugurated in 1875, the immense Opéra de Paris becomes the symbol of the wealthy bourgeoisie to which the Caillebotte family belongs.
La Rue Halévy vue du sixième étage, oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm painted by Caillebotte in 1878, was sold for $ 14M from a lower estimate of $ 6M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2019, lot 17. The image below, shared by Wikimedia, was copied from an art book.
As wide as a boulevard, the rue Halévy leads from the boulevard Haussmann to the Opéra, which is visible beyond the Haussmannian buildings. This aerial cityscape is bold for its time. The street is pleasantly animated with sparse pedestrians and carriages.
Caillebotte definitely likes this district. After the death of their mother in that same year, Gustave and his brother Martial move to the 3rd floor at 31 boulevard Haussmann, less than 200 meters from the position of the previous sight. Their balcony overlooking the boulevard is the theme of several paintings in 1880 and 1881.
La Rue Halévy vue du sixième étage, oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm painted by Caillebotte in 1878, was sold for $ 14M from a lower estimate of $ 6M by Sotheby's on May 14, 2019, lot 17. The image below, shared by Wikimedia, was copied from an art book.
As wide as a boulevard, the rue Halévy leads from the boulevard Haussmann to the Opéra, which is visible beyond the Haussmannian buildings. This aerial cityscape is bold for its time. The street is pleasantly animated with sparse pedestrians and carriages.
Caillebotte definitely likes this district. After the death of their mother in that same year, Gustave and his brother Martial move to the 3rd floor at 31 boulevard Haussmann, less than 200 meters from the position of the previous sight. Their balcony overlooking the boulevard is the theme of several paintings in 1880 and 1881.
1880 L'Homme au Balcon
2000 SOLD for $ 14.3M by Christie's
With Haussmann's works, Paris lost its dangerous and unhealthy medieval streets to the benefit of wide boulevards which became the symbol of the social success of the bourgeoisie. Very attracted by the Opera district, the Caillebotte brothers moved in 1879 to the sixth floor of a luxurious building at 31 boulevard Haussmann.
Gustave Caillebotte does not need to sell his paintings. He appropriates Monet's virtuosity, which he adapts to the scenes of his familiar surrounding. He wanted to be seen as a guarantor of impressionism at a time when new styles, notably around Degas, were questioning the basics of the movement.
In his apartment, Caillebotte develops the theme of the balcony, this observatory that ensures the transition between the cozy interior and the grandiose exterior. On May 8, 2000, Christie's sold for $ 14.3M L'Homme au balcon Boulevard Haussmann, oil on canvas 117 x 90 cm painted in 1880, lot 8. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Seen from behind, the standing man looks at the boulevard above which he has a dominant position. He is a visitor : he kept his top hat according to the fashion of the time, quite similar to the one we see on photos featuring Gustave.
The balance of this composition makes it an example worthy for demonstration, which Caillebotte will exhibit in 1882 at the Septième Exposition des Artistes Indépendants. On a beautiful sunny day, the foliage and buildings appear between the wrought iron grille and the elegant two-tone canopy.
This painting was given by the artist to his notary, who is probably the bourgeois of this scene.
Gustave Caillebotte does not need to sell his paintings. He appropriates Monet's virtuosity, which he adapts to the scenes of his familiar surrounding. He wanted to be seen as a guarantor of impressionism at a time when new styles, notably around Degas, were questioning the basics of the movement.
In his apartment, Caillebotte develops the theme of the balcony, this observatory that ensures the transition between the cozy interior and the grandiose exterior. On May 8, 2000, Christie's sold for $ 14.3M L'Homme au balcon Boulevard Haussmann, oil on canvas 117 x 90 cm painted in 1880, lot 8. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Seen from behind, the standing man looks at the boulevard above which he has a dominant position. He is a visitor : he kept his top hat according to the fashion of the time, quite similar to the one we see on photos featuring Gustave.
The balance of this composition makes it an example worthy for demonstration, which Caillebotte will exhibit in 1882 at the Septième Exposition des Artistes Indépendants. On a beautiful sunny day, the foliage and buildings appear between the wrought iron grille and the elegant two-tone canopy.
This painting was given by the artist to his notary, who is probably the bourgeois of this scene.
1881 Chemin Montant
2019 SOLD for £ 16.7M by Christie's
Martial Caillebotte was a cloth merchant who had amassed a considerable fortune as a supplier of the armies of Napoléon III. His sons did not need to work for living.
Gustave Caillebotte enjoyed rowing, sailing, painting, gardening. In 1875 a painting showing workmen is refused by the Salon : the subject cannot please the bourgeois. In response, the young artist undertakes to support the Impressionnistes. He will even be an indefectible guarantor of a certain authenticity of the early impressionist style.
Gustave is skilled. The sharp line from his beginnings gives way to a real impressionist brushstroke. In bold compositions, he studies the effects of diving and counter-diving.
He spends several summers near Trouville, the seaside village that offers its nautical pleasures and social entertainment to wealthy Parisians housed in grands hôtels and opulent villas.
Chemin montant, oil on canvas 100 x 125 cm painted in 1881, was sold by Christie's for $ 6.7M on November 4, 2003 and for £ 16.7M on February 27, 2019, lot 28. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A man and a woman are seen from behind, at the edge between the shadow and a bright summer sun. They move slowly, at the same level, without worrying about each other. They are not recognizable, probably to protect the anonymity of the very young woman who will henceforth share the life of the artist. The connoisseurs of the ancient Trouville recognize on the left side the Villa Italienne which was bordered by a steep path.
The artwork is painted in the full Impressionniste maturity of Caillebotte, probably in his studio from sketches. The path is leveled for a better opening onto the wooded horizon. The color balance is carefully constructed, with the yellow of the hat and the blue of gown and sky echoing the green of the vegetation while being embellished with the red-orange spots of the shutters and the sunshade.
Gustave Caillebotte enjoyed rowing, sailing, painting, gardening. In 1875 a painting showing workmen is refused by the Salon : the subject cannot please the bourgeois. In response, the young artist undertakes to support the Impressionnistes. He will even be an indefectible guarantor of a certain authenticity of the early impressionist style.
Gustave is skilled. The sharp line from his beginnings gives way to a real impressionist brushstroke. In bold compositions, he studies the effects of diving and counter-diving.
He spends several summers near Trouville, the seaside village that offers its nautical pleasures and social entertainment to wealthy Parisians housed in grands hôtels and opulent villas.
Chemin montant, oil on canvas 100 x 125 cm painted in 1881, was sold by Christie's for $ 6.7M on November 4, 2003 and for £ 16.7M on February 27, 2019, lot 28. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A man and a woman are seen from behind, at the edge between the shadow and a bright summer sun. They move slowly, at the same level, without worrying about each other. They are not recognizable, probably to protect the anonymity of the very young woman who will henceforth share the life of the artist. The connoisseurs of the ancient Trouville recognize on the left side the Villa Italienne which was bordered by a steep path.
The artwork is painted in the full Impressionniste maturity of Caillebotte, probably in his studio from sketches. The path is leveled for a better opening onto the wooded horizon. The color balance is carefully constructed, with the yellow of the hat and the blue of gown and sky echoing the green of the vegetation while being embellished with the red-orange spots of the shutters and the sunshade.
1884 Petit Gennevilliers
2019 SOLD for $ 19.7M by Sotheby's
Gustave Caillebotte is a wealthy Parisian bourgeois. After the death of his mother, he gives up the family home at Yerres and buys an estate in Petit-Gennevilliers to build his house and his studio. Close to the Argenteuil bridge, he thus settles in a place beloved by his impressionist friends where he could devote himself to his passion for boating.
Caillebotte does not need money. His works are most often in relation with his private life, in Paris, Gennevilliers or Trouville. In the early 1880s he desires to be the representative of the earliest Impressionist style and manages to move away from the group, having therefore more time for hobbies and painting.
He has many friends, including a former school fellow named Richard Gallo of whom he has made since 1878 several salon portraits. He manages to attract this young townsman for a visit to Gennevilliers.
On November 12, 2019, Sotheby's sold for $ 19.7M Richard Gallo et son chien Dick au Petit-Gennevilliers, lot 25. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This very large oil on canvas 89 x 116 cm painted in 1884 has an unconventional composition as it was liked by Caillebotte or Degas. The Seine river displays all its colors and reflections. On the other side, sparse little houses reveal that we are not in Paris.
In contrast, the bank at the foreground is poorly lit. The bourgeois follows the dog from a distance, without obstructing the central view to the river. Both are seen in profile as silhouettes. They are in the fashion of Paris, the man with his frock coat, hat and cane and the poodle shorn "à la lion".
The river seems to be the main theme of this painting. Exhibited in 1888 with the title Portrait de M. R.G., it was indeed considered by the artist as a portrait of his friend, perhaps meaning nicely that the social gap between city and countryside is not irremediable. Presented by the artist to Gallo, it was not included in the bequest of the Caillebotte collection to the French state.
Caillebotte does not need money. His works are most often in relation with his private life, in Paris, Gennevilliers or Trouville. In the early 1880s he desires to be the representative of the earliest Impressionist style and manages to move away from the group, having therefore more time for hobbies and painting.
He has many friends, including a former school fellow named Richard Gallo of whom he has made since 1878 several salon portraits. He manages to attract this young townsman for a visit to Gennevilliers.
On November 12, 2019, Sotheby's sold for $ 19.7M Richard Gallo et son chien Dick au Petit-Gennevilliers, lot 25. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This very large oil on canvas 89 x 116 cm painted in 1884 has an unconventional composition as it was liked by Caillebotte or Degas. The Seine river displays all its colors and reflections. On the other side, sparse little houses reveal that we are not in Paris.
In contrast, the bank at the foreground is poorly lit. The bourgeois follows the dog from a distance, without obstructing the central view to the river. Both are seen in profile as silhouettes. They are in the fashion of Paris, the man with his frock coat, hat and cane and the poodle shorn "à la lion".
The river seems to be the main theme of this painting. Exhibited in 1888 with the title Portrait de M. R.G., it was indeed considered by the artist as a portrait of his friend, perhaps meaning nicely that the social gap between city and countryside is not irremediable. Presented by the artist to Gallo, it was not included in the bequest of the Caillebotte collection to the French state.
1885 Le Pont d'Argenteuil et la Seine
2011 SOLD for $ 18M by Sotheby's
Gustave Caillebotte is a wealthy Parisian bourgeois. After the death of his mother, he gives up the family home at Yerres and buys an estate in Petit-Gennevilliers to build his house and his studio. Close to Argenteuil, he thus settles in 1881 in a place beloved by his impressionist friends Manet, Monet, Sisley and Renoir, where he could devote himself to his passion for sailing.
Caillebotte does not need money. His works are most often in relation with his private life, in Paris, Gennevilliers or Trouville. In the early 1880s he desires to be the representative of the earliest Impressionist style and manages to move away from the group, having therefore more time for hobbies and painting.
Le Pont d'Argenteuil et la Seine, painted in 1885, is a view under a single wood arch of the highway bridge at mid day with the Seine river below in shadow and beyond. The close view of the architecture is reminding the Pont de l'Europe in Paris painted by him in 1876. The end of the modern railway bridge of Monet's fame is visible on the shore.
This oil on canvas 66 x 82 cm was sold for $ 8.5M by Christie's on November 6, 2008, lot 36, and for $ 18M by Sotheby's on November 2, 2011, lot 17. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Caillebotte does not need money. His works are most often in relation with his private life, in Paris, Gennevilliers or Trouville. In the early 1880s he desires to be the representative of the earliest Impressionist style and manages to move away from the group, having therefore more time for hobbies and painting.
Le Pont d'Argenteuil et la Seine, painted in 1885, is a view under a single wood arch of the highway bridge at mid day with the Seine river below in shadow and beyond. The close view of the architecture is reminding the Pont de l'Europe in Paris painted by him in 1876. The end of the modern railway bridge of Monet's fame is visible on the shore.
This oil on canvas 66 x 82 cm was sold for $ 8.5M by Christie's on November 6, 2008, lot 36, and for $ 18M by Sotheby's on November 2, 2011, lot 17. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
1892 Bateaux au mouillage à Argenteuil
2015 SOLD for $ 6.7M by Sotheby's
Gustave Caillebotte was a man of many passions. Born into a wealthy family, he did not need to work for his living and was able to accompany and support the Impressionists.
Monet lived in Argenteuil from 1871 to 1878. In 1881 he convinced Caillebotte to settle in this small town on the Seine where he could spend his time in the double pleasure of painting and of competitive sailing.
In Argenteuil Monet had experienced with the outdoor painting, with his touch so original, his bold composition, his studies of colors and reflections. The young Caillebotte was gifted, too.
His views of the Seine are common, with the blue river, the reflections, the small boats, almost always in medium format.
An oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm painted in 1882 was sold for $ 5.1M by Christie's on November 3, 2010, lot 7. It shows two small boats at rest, awaiting their sails. The boats have been identified as belonging to the artist. A view painted in 1883, identical in format and similar in conception, was sold for £ 3.3M by Christie's on June 23, 2010, lot 13. A view 65 x 81 cm painted ca 1882 from Petit-Gennevilliers was sold for $ 4.9M by Christie's on November 17, 2022, lot 44.
Bateaux au mouillage, oil on canvas 60 x 74 cm painted in 1892, features a nice ripple at the surface of the river which is another reminiscence of the style of Monet. Argenteuil is viewed from an island or possibly from a boat near its shore. At that time Caillebotte was living full time at Petit-Gennevilliers. It was sold for $ 6.7M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on November 5, 2015, lot 10. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Monet lived in Argenteuil from 1871 to 1878. In 1881 he convinced Caillebotte to settle in this small town on the Seine where he could spend his time in the double pleasure of painting and of competitive sailing.
In Argenteuil Monet had experienced with the outdoor painting, with his touch so original, his bold composition, his studies of colors and reflections. The young Caillebotte was gifted, too.
His views of the Seine are common, with the blue river, the reflections, the small boats, almost always in medium format.
An oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm painted in 1882 was sold for $ 5.1M by Christie's on November 3, 2010, lot 7. It shows two small boats at rest, awaiting their sails. The boats have been identified as belonging to the artist. A view painted in 1883, identical in format and similar in conception, was sold for £ 3.3M by Christie's on June 23, 2010, lot 13. A view 65 x 81 cm painted ca 1882 from Petit-Gennevilliers was sold for $ 4.9M by Christie's on November 17, 2022, lot 44.
Bateaux au mouillage, oil on canvas 60 x 74 cm painted in 1892, features a nice ripple at the surface of the river which is another reminiscence of the style of Monet. Argenteuil is viewed from an island or possibly from a boat near its shore. At that time Caillebotte was living full time at Petit-Gennevilliers. It was sold for $ 6.7M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on November 5, 2015, lot 10. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
