ArtHitParade
ArtHitParade on X
  • Home
    • Contact
  • Calendar
  • Top 10
    • Origin
    • From 600 BCE to CE
    • Years 1 to 1000
    • Years 1000 to 1400
    • 15th Century >
      • Years 1400-1429
      • Years 1430-1459
      • Years 1460-1479
      • Years 1480-1499
    • 16th Century >
      • Years 1500-1519
      • Decade 1520-1529
      • Decade 1530-1539
      • Years 1540-1569
      • Years 1570-1599
    • 17th Century >
      • Decade 1600-1609
      • Decade 1610-1619
      • Decade 1620-1629
      • Decade 1630-1639
      • Decade 1640-1649
      • Decade 1650-1659
      • Years 1660-1679
      • Years 1680-1699
    • 18th Century >
      • Decade 1700-1709
      • Decade 1710-1719
      • Decade 1720-1729
      • Decade 1730-1739
      • Decade 1740-1749
      • Decade 1750-1759
      • Decade 1760-1769
      • Decade 1770-1779 >
        • 1776
      • Decade 1780-1789 >
        • 1787
      • Decade 1790-1799 >
        • 1792
    • 19th Century >
      • Decade 1800-1809
      • Decade 1810-1819
      • Decade 1820-1829
      • Decade 1830-1839
      • Decade 1840-1849
      • Decade 1850-1859
      • Decade 1860-1869
      • Decade 1870-1879 >
        • 1877
        • 1878
        • 1879
      • Decade 1880-1889 >
        • 1880
        • 1881
        • 1882
        • 1884
        • 1885
        • 1887
        • 1888
        • 1889
      • Decade 1890-1899 >
        • 1890
        • 1891
        • 1892
        • 1895
        • 1896
    • 20th Century >
      • Decade 1900-1909 >
        • 1901
        • 1902
        • 1903
        • 1904
        • 1905
        • 1906
        • 1907
        • 1908
        • 1909
      • Decade 1910-1919 >
        • 1910
        • 1911
        • 1912
        • 1913
        • 1914
        • 1915
        • 1916
        • 1917
        • 1918
        • 1919
      • Decade 1920-1929 >
        • 1920
        • 1921
        • 1922
        • 1923
        • 1924
        • 1925
        • 1926
        • 1927
        • 1928
        • 1929
      • Decade 1930-1939 >
        • 1930
        • 1931
        • 1932
        • 1933
        • 1934
        • 1935
        • 1936
        • 1937
        • 1938
        • 1939
      • Decade 1940-1949 >
        • 1941
        • 1942
        • 1943
        • 1945
        • 1946
        • 1947
        • 1948
        • 1949
      • Decade 1950-1959 >
        • 1950
        • 1951
        • 1952
        • 1953
        • 1954
        • 1955
        • 1956
        • 1957
        • 1958
        • 1959
      • Decade 1960-1969 >
        • 1960
        • 1961
        • 1962
        • 1963
        • 1964
        • 1965
        • 1966
        • 1967
        • 1968
        • 1969
      • Decade 1970-1979 >
        • 1970
        • 1971
        • 1972
        • 1973
        • 1974
        • 1975
        • 1976
        • 1977
        • 1978
        • 1979
      • Decade 1980-1989 >
        • 1980
        • 1981
        • 1982
        • 1983
        • 1984
        • 1985
        • 1986
        • 1987
        • 1988
        • 1989
      • Decade 1990-1999 >
        • 1990
        • 1991
        • 1992
        • 1993
        • 1994
        • 1995
        • 1996
        • 1997
        • 1998
        • 1999
    • 21st Century >
      • Decade 2000-2009 >
        • 2000
        • 2001
        • 2002
        • 2003
        • 2004
        • 2005
        • 2006
        • 2007
        • 2008
        • 2009
      • Decade 2010-2019 >
        • 2010
        • 2011
        • 2012
        • 2013
        • 2014
        • 2015
        • 2017
        • 2018
      • 2020 to now >
        • 2021
        • 2022
  • Ancient Painting
    • Flemish Art >
      • Pieter II Brueghel
      • Jan Brueghel
    • Rubens
    • Rembrandt
    • Early Still Life
    • Oil on Copper
  • 18th Century Painting
  • Ancient Drawing
  • Art on Paper
  • Sculpture
    • Bust
    • Ancient Sculpture >
      • Roman Sculpture
    • Italian Sculpture
    • French Sculpture >
      • Rodin
    • Sculpture by Painters
  • Women Artists
    • Ancient Art by Women
    • O'Keeffe
    • Lempicka
    • Martin
    • Mitchell
    • Yayoi Kusama
    • Brown
  • Furniture
    • Chairs and Seats
    • Colonial Furniture
    • Ancient French Furniture
    • Modern Furniture >
      • Art Deco
      • Modern Tables
  • Prints
    • Ancient Prints
    • Modern Prints
  • Photo
    • Old Photos >
      • Travel Photos
      • Early French Photo
    • Photos 1900s 1910s
    • Photos 1920s 1930s
    • Photos 1970s 1980s
    • Sherman
    • Gursky
  • The Man
  • The Woman
  • Children
  • Man and Woman
  • Groups
  • Self Portrait
    • Self Portrait 2nd page
  • Nude
  • Abstract Art - 2nd page
  • Landscape
    • Alps
  • Cities
    • Venice
    • Paris
  • Flowers
    • Bouquet
  • Animals
    • Bird
    • Cats and Lions
    • Horse
  • Tabletop
  • Music and Dance in Art
    • Music in Old Painting
  • Sport in Art
  • Orientalism
    • Orientalism 1830-1900
  • France
    • French Painting before 1860
    • Manet
    • Degas
    • Cézanne
    • Monet >
      • Monet before 1879
      • Monet 1879-1887
      • Series by Monet
      • London and Venice
      • Bassin aux Nymphéas
    • Renoir
    • Caillebotte
    • Gauguin
    • Seurat
    • Signac
    • Lautrec
    • Matisse
    • Léger
    • Klein
    • Lalanne
    • Post War French Art
  • Italy
    • Canaletto
    • Modigliani
    • Fontana
    • Mappa by Boetti
  • Swiss Painting
  • Giacometti
    • Giacometti 1947-53
    • Femme Debout
  • Bacon
    • Bacon before 1963
    • Bacon 1963-70
    • Later Bacons
    • Head Triptych
  • UK - 2nd page
    • Ancient England
    • George III
    • British Royals
    • Turner >
      • Watercolor by Turner
    • Freud >
      • Early Freud
    • Hockney
    • Doig
    • Hirst
    • Banksy
  • Richter
    • Richter before 1983
  • Germany - 2nd page
    • Ancient Germany >
      • Cranach
    • Marc
  • Van Gogh
  • Mondrian
  • De Kooning
  • Magritte
    • Early Magritte
  • Belgium 2nd page
  • Ancient Spain
  • Picasso
    • Picasso before 1907
    • Picasso 1907-1931
    • Marie-Thérèse
    • Picasso later 1930s
    • Picasso 1940-1960
    • Picasso in Mougins
    • Prints by Picasso
  • Gris
  • Miro
  • Klimt
  • Schiele
  • USA
    • US Independence
    • Development of USA
    • US Civil War
    • US Painting before 1940 >
      • Sargent
    • Hopper
    • Rockwell
    • Calder
    • Rothko >
      • Early Rothko
      • Rothko 1957-70
    • Still
    • Newman
    • Guston
    • Pollock
    • Diebenkorn
    • Lichtenstein >
      • Lichtenstein after 1965
    • Warhol >
      • USA by Warhol
      • Celebrities by Warhol >
        • Elvis and Liz
      • Later Warhols
      • Prints by Warhol >
        • Warhol Prints 2nd page
    • Twombly
    • Johns
    • Ruscha
    • Koons
    • Marshall
    • Wool
    • Basquiat
    • Bradford
  • Wild West
  • Central and South Americas
    • Mexico
  • China
    • Ritual Bronzes
    • Song
    • Yuan
    • Ming
    • Early Qing
    • Qianlong
    • Modern China >
      • Qi Baishi
      • Zhang Daqian >
        • Zhang Daqian before 1965
      • Fu Baoshi
      • Sanyu >
        • Sanyu before 1950
      • Li Keran
      • Wu Guanzhong
      • Zao Wou-Ki
      • Cui Ruzhuo
    • Chinese Porcelain >
      • Song to Yuan Porcelain
      • Ming Porcelain
      • Qing Porcelain
    • Chinese Art
    • Mountains in China
    • Chinese Calligraphy
    • Chinese Furniture
    • Imperial Seal
    • Chinese Dragon
    • Jadeite
  • India
    • Gaitonde
    • Modern India
  • Persia
    • Safavid Carpets
  • Yoshitomo Nara
  • Russia and Eastern Europe
    • Russia 1700-1900
    • Kandinsky
    • Brancusi
    • Chagall
    • Soutine
    • Ghenie
  • Munch
    • Prints by Munch
  • Egypt
  • Tropical Africa
    • Congo
    • Gabon
    • Mask
  • Tribal Oceania
    • Easter Island
  • Australia
    • Colonial Australia
  • Islam
  • Buddhism
    • Early Buddhist Sculpture
    • Tibet and Nepal
  • Judaica
  • Christianity
    • Madonna and Child
  • Cars
    • Birth of Automobile
    • Cars of the 1910s
    • Cars of the 1920s
    • Cars of the 1930s >
      • Cars 1930-33
      • Cars 1934-35
      • Cars 1936-37
      • Cars 1938-39
    • Post War Cars
    • Cars of the 1950s >
      • Cars 1953-54
      • Cars 1955
      • Cars 1956-57
      • Cars 1958-59
    • Cars of the 1960s >
      • Cars 1960-61
      • Cars 1962-63
      • Cars 1964-65
      • Cars 1966-67
    • Cars 1970s 1980s
    • Supercars
    • Hypercars
    • Ferrari >
      • California Spider
      • Big Five
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • Porsche
    • Aston Martin
    • Jaguar
    • McLaren
    • Bugatti
    • French Cars
    • Duesenberg
    • Ford and Shelby
    • Cars in Movies
  • Motorcycles
  • Jewels
    • White Diamond
    • Pink Diamond
    • Blue Diamond
    • Jewels - 2nd page
    • Cartier
  • Silverware
    • Old Silverware
  • Coin
    • Antique Coins >
      • Roman Coins
    • Coins 1000-1775
    • Coins 1776-92
    • Coins 1793-1819
    • Coins 1820-49
    • Coins 1850-69
    • Coins 1870-99
    • 20th century Coins
    • US Gold Coins
    • Silver Dollar
    • Cent and Dime
    • British Coins
    • Japanese Coins
    • Chinese Coins
  • Paper Currency
  • Medal and Decoration
  • Time Pieces
    • Clocks >
      • Old Clocks
    • Mechanical Craft ca 1800
    • Jaquet-Droz and Followers
    • Modern Watches
    • New Watches >
      • OnlyWatch
    • Patek Philippe >
      • Patek Philippe before 1950
      • World Time
      • Perpetual Calendar
    • Rolex
    • French Time Pieces
    • Daniels
  • Glass and Crystal
    • Glass before 1900
    • Tiffany Studios
  • Terracotta and Porcelain
    • Meissen
  • Textiles
  • Books
    • Incunabula
    • 16th Century Books
    • 17th Century Books
    • Fine Books 1700-1850
    • The Birds of America
  • Literature
    • Literature in French
  • Poems and Lyrics
  • Autograph
  • Manuscript
    • Paleography
    • Illuminated Christian Manuscript
  • Political Writing
  • Comic Books
  • Illustration Art
    • Tintin
  • Travel
  • Ancient Maps
  • Space
  • Movies
  • Screen Worn
  • Music
  • Musical Instrument
    • Stradivarius
    • Violin 2nd page
    • Guitar
    • Chinese Instrument
  • The Beatles
  • Poster
  • Sport
    • Sport Equipment
    • Sport Document
    • Sport Rewards
    • Sport Cards >
      • Sport Images before 1942
      • T206 Wagner
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Sport Cards 1942-92
      • Topps Mantle
      • Modern Sport Cards
    • Baseball >
      • Baseball Bat
      • Baseball Jersey
      • Babe Ruth
      • Lou Gehrig
    • Basketball >
      • Michael Jordan
      • Kobe Bryant
    • Ice Hockey
    • Sport 2nd page
  • Olympic Games
  • Origins of Sports
  • Historical Arms
    • Blade and Armour
    • Colt in Lifetime
    • Later Colts
    • Winchester
    • Firearms
  • Toys
  • Doll
  • Games
  • Stamps
    • US Stamps
    • Inverted Jenny
  • Inventions
  • Leica
  • Sciences
    • Ancient Science
    • Sciences 1600-1800
    • Astronomy
    • Physics
    • Medicine
  • Dinosaur
  • Computing
  • Nobel Medals
    • Nobel in Medicine
  • Whisky
    • Whisky 2nd page
  • Wine
  • Plus
    • Plus 17C Art
    • Plus 18C Art
    • Plus 1910s
    • Plus 1982 Basquiat
    • Plus Ferrari
    • Plus US Cars
    • Plus Qing Porcelain
    • Plus Tribal
  • Work in Progress

Gustave CAILLEBOTTE (1848-1894)

Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
​See also : Cities  Paris  Man and woman
Chronology : 1870-1879  1877  1878  1880  1881  1884  1885

breakthrough
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 - The Floor Planers - Google Art Project

​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.
G. Caillebotte - Jeune homme à la fenêtre
Cities
Paris
Decade 1870-1879

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.

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.

The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Le Pont de l'Europe (1876). Musée du Petit Palais, Genève

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.
'On the Pont de l’Europe', oil on canvas painting by Gustave Caillebotte, 1876-77, Kimbell Art Museum

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.
1877

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 jardiniers (1875). Private collection

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.
Caillebotte Portrait de Monsieur R 1877

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.
Rue Halévy, From the 7th Floor (1878). Private collection
1878

​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.
L'homme au balcon, Boulevard Haussmann (1880)
1880

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.
G. Caillebotte - Chemin montant
Man and Woman
1881

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.
Gustave Caillebotte Richard Gallo and his Dog at Petit Gennevilliers
1884

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.
G. Caillebotte - Le pont d'Argenteuil
1885

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 view under the bridge of Argenteuil, 66 x 82 cm, circa 1883, is worthy of Monet. It was sold for $ 8.5M by Christie's in 2008.

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.
'Bateaux au mouillage sur la Seine à Argenteuil' by Gustave Caillebotte, 1892
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.