Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte was a French painter and photographer who lived from 1848 to 1894. He is mostly associated with the Impressionist art movement, though his art is more of a combination of Realism and Impressionism.
Caillebotte was born in Paris to an upper-class family. Although he showed an early interest in art, he began his career as a lawyer and engineer. After serving in the Franco-Prussian war between 1870 and 1871, Caillebotte started studying art under Léon Bonnat. Soon afterwards, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. Caillebotte’s father passed away in 1874, and the allowance he received allowed Caillebotte to fully pursue art, but without the pressure of having to sell his work. He soon became social with many Parisian artists of the day, including Edgar Degas and Claude Monet, and was drawn into the Impressionism art world. In fact, he helped fund his artist friends by purchasing their work, and as such, greatly helped out the career of Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro.
Caillebotte’s first exhibition of his work was at the second Impressionist art show in 1876 where he showed 8 pieces. Though Caillebotte’s works display more realism than traditional impressionism pieces, he shared the same overall vision in that he wanted to paint the scenes in truth, as the way he saw it. Caillebotte showed an early interest in photography as an art form, and many critics believe his interest in photography shaped the composition of his works, particularly in terms of perspective, angled floors, and a higher vantage point.
Caillebotte stopped showing his paintings at just 34 years old, though he continued to paint for the rest of his life. Instead, he decided to spend his time building and racing yachts as well as gardening. Gustave Caillebotte died in 1894 at just 45 years old. He suffered pulmonary congestion in his chest while gardening. Caillebotte success as an artist was mostly forgotten until the 1950s when his heirs were selling his paintings. By the 1970s, his work was reassessed by critics, and he is now remembered as a great artist.
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