You Have One Week Left to See “Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter’s Eye” at the Kimbell in Fort Worth
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Photo courtesy of The Kimbell Art Museum http://caillebotte.kimbellart.org/exhibit
Looking for a unique way to spend Valentine’s Day? Your Valentine will love this unique way to spend a most romantic day, in Fort Worth at the Kimbell Art Museum. In fact, we were a little late with our Fort Worth Friday this week because we toured “Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter’s Eye” exhibit in the Renzo Piano Pavillion South gallery, and we were just blown away. The Kimbell Art Museum is a huge real estate asset to Fort Worth, and we in Dallas are pretty fortunate it’s only an hour away by car.
Who was Gustave Caillebotte? He was actually a collector of fine Impressionist art, but he was also an incredibly talented French avante garde artist. Because he came from a well-to-do French family, he didn’t have to sell his paintings to create income, thus his works were not widely collected. He had no children, and George T.M. Shackelford, Deputy Director of the Kimbell Art Museum, tells me that Caillebotte’s niece inherited most of his art. Caillebotte had two brothers: one died at age 25, and Caillebotte himself died at the age of 45. His paintings cross the upper class life of 19th century France from the city to the countryside. Something I found interesting was the way he painted interiors, replicating every element of rooms from carpet to sofa fabric to wallpaper and the servant’s buzzer on the ornate fireplace.
Despite establishing himself as an artistic force among the French impressionists, Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894) remains perhaps the least known among them. Without need to make art as a source of income, Caillebotte did not actively sell his pictures, and few entered collectors’ hands. Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter’s Eye brings together over fifty of the most important and beloved pieces of Caillebotte’s career, lent from private collections, public institutions, and the artist’s own family. This exhibition will delve into Caillebotte’s diverse inspirations, offer critical insights into the cultural context of his work, and position him firmly within the pantheon of French avant-garde art.
Here are a few paintings, including one depicting his view of Paris as it was transformed by the great architect Baron Haussmann, the so-called Haussmannization of Paris, which implemented stringent building codes to unify building design, improve urban infrastructure, widen streets, add sidewalks and streetlamps — make paris walkable. Caillebotte’s paintings of Paris, such as The Pont de l’Europe, reflect and capture what was for Parisians in the late 1800’s, a dramatic modernization.
Caillebotte’s paintings capture the visual transformation of Paris into the city as it is known today. Begun in the 1850s under the direction of Baron Haussmann to address a host of city ills, the so-called Haussmannization of Paris implemented stringent codes that unified building design, improved urban infrastructure, widened streets, and added sidewalks and streetlamps. Caillebotte’s paintings of his Parisian environment, such as The Pont de l’Europe, are both reflections and products of this rapid modernization. – See more at: http://caillebotte.kimbellart.org/exhibit#sthash.1OrOSVt1.dpuf
The fruits at this upscale stand are carefully displayed to lure bourgeois passersby—or their servants—and turn a profit. White paper cradles each fig, pear, apple, orange, and tomato, while dark green leaves frame the arrangement. Caillebotte enhanced the allure by cutting out almost every reference to the setting, so that fruits fill nearly every inch of the canvas and give viewers the sensation of standing directly before the assortment. It is precisely the kind of display that Caillebotte’s neighbors would have encountered in their newly designed neighborhood near the Paris opera house.
The “Europe Bridge” is the nexus of six streets that converge above the rail yard of the Saint-Lazare train station. The station is just visible on the right—its activity is suggested by the plumes of engine steam rising to meet the clouds. The bridge was part of a recent renovation of Paris, which replaced old narrow streets with large boulevards, facilitating movement through the city and connecting isolated quarters. Caillebotte emphasized these changes through the breadth of his view and the diversity of his pedestrians: men and women, aristocrats and the working class share these public spaces. Their interactions are ambiguous, leaving viewers to puzzle over potential narratives and elusive relationships.
Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the generosity of Mrs. George C. Reuland through the W.J. Brace Charitable Trust and through exchange of the bequests of Mr. and Mrs. William James Brace and Frances Logan; the gifts of Harold Woodbury Parsons, Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Bloch, and the Laura Nelson Kirkwood Residuary Trust; and other Trust properties
The lower half of a painting of his family’s vacation home
Caillebotte’s paintings capture the visual transformation of Paris into the city as it is known today. Begun in the 1850s under the direction of Baron Haussmann to address a host of city ills, the so-called Haussmannization of Paris implemented stringent codes that unified building design, improved urban infrastructure, widened streets, and added sidewalks and streetlamps. Caillebotte’s paintings of his Parisian environment, such as The Pont de l’Europe, are both reflections and products of this rapid modernization.
When this canvas was exhibited at the 1877 impressionist exhibition, it elicited numerous comparisons to photography, specifically the wide angles, deep focus, and severe cropping of figures seen in the new medium. Like a modern snapshot, the composition captures a haphazard moment, as if the artist had stumbled upon this scene. Yet Caillebotte carefully composed the picture and painted it with precision: the lamppost bifurcates the canvas; lines of perspective draw viewers’ eyes from the foreground into the deep recesses; and the strategic positioning of the figures beneath umbrellas emphasizes their isolation within a crowd. The uniformity of the umbrellas and clothing underscores the anonymity of the modern city. The size of the canvas—the largest Caillebotte is known to have painted—suggests the painter’s artistic ambition.
This somber family lunch was painted soon after the death of the artist’s father. Caillebotte’s mother is depicted in mourning attire. The artist’s younger brother René eats intently and silently, plunging into his meal even before his mother is finished being served. The warped perspective enhances the scene’s discomfort. By including a cropped place setting in the foreground, Caillebotte seats the viewer as a guest at this awkward meal. Less than a year after this canvas was completed, René died unexpectedly, aged twenty-five.
Wearing a top hat, bow tie, and vest, and with his coat on the seat beside him, the rower is a visiting Parisian enjoying an excursion in the countryside. In the distance, on the other hand, two local men or dedicated boaters are wearing clothing more suited for sport. The city rower is pushed to the very front of the picture plane, revealing the artist’s specific point of view from a seat within the boat opposite the subject, whose identity remains unknown.
