Gustave Caillebotte

Gustave Caillebotte is a painter French, collector, Mécène and organizer of exposures, born with Paris on August 19th, 1848 and died in Gennevilliers on February 21st, 1894, at the 45 years age. It is buried with the Cimetière of the Father-Lachaise in Paris.

Biography

After having begun studies of Right, it enters the workshop of the academic painter Leon Bonnat. In 1873, it makes a success of the examination of entry of the École of the Art schools. Resulting from a rich person family of industrialists, he inherits with dead his father, in 1874 of a property with Yerres (the Essonne) and of an important fortune which enables him to be devoted to its passion for painting. It also enables him to become the patron of its friends painters, in particular Renoir, Degas or Monet and to finance the organization of impressionist exposures .

In 1875, its table the Planers of parquet floor (below) is refused with the Living room, the subject running up by its extreme daily newspaper - it is today one of its more famous tables. The following years, it will take part in various impressionist exposures, then with the Société of the XX.

Its work is original by its topics, in particular the trouble and the extreme loneliness of the characters in new Paris haussmannien, but also in the countryside and within the family circle - even within this privileged framework, the characters seem indifferent the ones to the others. Its work is also original by its technique: it seems close to the photographic art, but by powerful effects of truncated prospects, the distances and the foregrounds are crushed and the horizon absent, from where the unstable and plunging perception of its fabrics.

Caillebotte was one of the first French great painters to expose regularly to the United States where it met a sharp success and where are today many its fabrics. It is one of the founders of the current " réaliste" what will illustrate for example at the 20th century the American Edward Hopper.

Starting from 1876, Caillebotte collects paintings of his/her friends painters, and is shown very generous in the acquisition of works. " Patron éclairé" , it acquires for example Coin of apartment of Claude Monet, or the Bal of the Mill of the Wafer of Auguste Renoir. It also buys paintings with Paul Cézanne, with Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet and Camille Pissarro.

Its activity of collector also extended to the Philatélie, of which he was an assiduous follower with his brother musician Martial Caillebotte. It was one of the founders, with Doctor Jacques Legrand and Arthur de Rothschild of the French company of Timbrologie, on June 14th 1875.

Its passion for the yachting did not cease growing. In 1881, under the influence of Monet, it moves in with the Petit Gennevilliers and repurchases the shipyard " Luce" (of the name of the former owner). Régatier, it is impassioned for speed and seeks to improve its boats. naval Architect, it built prototypes of sailing ships, with the multiple innovations (veil out of silk, external Lest, hull S hydrodynamics,…), which enabled him to gain international titles. In 1882, it builds the sailing ship " Jack" , in 1885, the center-board " Pioche" , and sailing ships the " Lézard" in 1891, " Roastbeef" , more known, in 1892, and " Mignon" launched in 1894 after the death of its inventor.

In its will, it bequeathed to its sixty-seven death impressionist tables of its personal collection in the State, which accepted any finally only thirty-eight, after two years of negotiations carried out by Renoir, executor of Caillebotte, and violent polemics. The Académie of the Art schools protested officially against the entry of these tables to the museum of Luxembourg, by qualifying the event of “offense to the dignity of our school”.

The house and the park which it had with Yerres (the Essonne), in edge of the homonymous river, are communal property today and the park is opened with the public. It is there that it painted certain scenes of périssoires.

The talent of Caillebotte was ignored a long time - except in the United States -, with the profit of its role of " patron éclairé". The painter was redécouvert in the years 1970, on the initiative of the American collectors. The retrospectives of its works are from now on frequent. Some of its works are now with the Musée of Orsay in Paris.

It was the subject of exposures assembled to Houston and Brooklyn in 1976, and to the Large palace in fine Paris 1994, like with the foundation of the Hermitage with Lausanne, from June 24th to October 23rd 2005.

Its works

Woman with her toilet (1873), private Collection
the Gardeners (1875-1877)
Planers of parquet floor (1875), Museum of Orsay to Paris
Young man with the window (1876), New York, private Collection
the bridge of Europe (1876), Museum of the Petit Palais to Geneva
Street of Paris, time of rain (1877), Art Institute with Chicago
Périssoires (1877), National Gallery off Art with Washington
Rowers (1877), private Collection, France
the Part of boat (1877), private Collection, Paris
House painters (1877)
the Station Saint Lazare (1877), Museum of Orsay, Paris
Seen roofs, effect of snow (1878), Museum of Orsay to Paris
the Orange trees (1878 ), Museum off Fine Arts with Houston
Bather being on the point of plunging (about 1878)
Rowers rowing on Yerres (1879)
the Part of bezique (1880), private Collection
Boulevard seen of in top (1880)
Man with the balcony, boulevard Haussmann (1880), sold 14306000 $ by Christie' S Still life in May 2000
, chicken and game with the display (1882)
In a coffee (1890), Museum of the Art schools of Rouen
Gustave Caillebotte, self-portrait (1892)
Tree in flowers, small Gennevilliers , sold 1046583 € in June 2004

Gallery

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