Gustave Caillebotte, urban impressionist

de Anne Distel

Commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the death of Gustave Caillebotte, this handsome volume offers new information and insight regarding one of the most engaging painters and proselytizers of the Impressionist movement. Caillebotte's vivid representations of Parisian life bridged the gap between Realism and Impressionism during the late 1870s and early 1880s. His Paris Street; Rainy Day and Floor-Scrapers - each the subject of an extensively illustrated analysis in this volume - have become icons of the Impressionists' devotion to scenes of modern life. Also featured here are other of his distinctive street paintings as well as numerous interiors, still lifes and market scenes, portraits, and views of the countryside outside Paris. Prepared by an international team of scholars to accompany a major exhibition organized by the Reunion des Musees Nationaux/Musee d'Orsay, Paris, and The Art Institute of Chicago, Gustave Caillebotte: Urban Impressionist features in-depth discussion of eighty-nine of his paintings and twenty-eight of his drawings and studies, many of them from little-known private collections. Thoughtful essays examine both his work and his crucial role as an early patron and promoter of Impressionism. An illustrated checklist of Caillebotte's bequest, a chronology, and a selected bibliography provide additional invaluable information.