Gustave Caillebotte

Gustave Caillebotte was one of the Impressionist artists of the late 1800. His wealth allowed him to become one of the main financial backers of the Impressionists' in addition to participating in their exhibits. His style of painting, however, did not quite fit with the Impressionist style. Rather than painting in the formal Impressionist style of focusing on the effects of pigment and brushstroke, Caillebottes style included more of the modernity and new social forms of life in Paris. "The increased focus in subject matter and the conditions of modernity have enabled Caillebotte's work to become an area of critical attention once more." (Challenge of A-G p.138)

Caillebotte's style is both a celebration and a critique of modern life. It is a celebration because Caillebotte's family had an investment in rebuilding Paris during the reconstruction, and the artist had depicted this process in many of his paintings. By doing so, he shows celebration of the end of the siege and the beginning of a new modern city being rebuilt in the place of the old Paris. In his paintings he focuses mainly on depicting the streets of Paris, that have greater spaces but look isolated with few people in them, and paints them from interesting perspectives which create a modern look to them. He also seems to critique this new modern life that came to Paris which can be seen in the paintings that he made, depicting men doing women's work or chores around the house, and just being located in domestic places which are usually associated with females.

Some of Caillebotte's paintings are images of gender roles during the late nineteenth century. The
Luncheon, 1876, is one such painting in which we can see how Caillebotte showed this role play at his own home. This painting is set in a dining room. There is a table standing in the middle and it is covered with drinks and silverware. On one side of the table, Caillebotte's brother is starting to eat his meal. The interesting thing is that the mother is seated at the farthest end of the table, which looks even farther because of the elongated shape of the table, as a servant is holding a tray of food out to her. This distance between the sons and their mother shows how women were not treated equal as men and could not even sit near them in their own households. There is also an empty plate at the very front of the table, which represents the spot where Caillebotte himself is to be seated. "The representation of men within a domain more usually associated with women was clearly of interest for Caillebotte." (Challenge of A-G p.142) Along with other works by Caillebotte, this painting raised questions about the relationship between gender and domestic space.

Another thing that we can see in Caillebottes paintings that are associated with modernity is his depiction of the male nude. The interesting thing about it is the fact that not only is the setting of these figures contemporary, but also that it is a setting that is typically associated with the females, rather than the males. One such example of modernity can be seen in Caillebotte's painting Man at his Bath, 1884.(see image on the left) This painting depicts a male figure that is mostly nude, aside from the towel with which he is wiping his back. In one corner of the room we see part of a bathtub showing and a chair in another corner with some clothes on it. There is a light coming through the curtains which are covering the window in front of the man. The man is depicted from a rear view with his legs slightly apart, his feet planted squarely on the floor, and his head bent forward. The man is caught in action and the painting has a vigorous feeling to it rather than just a depiction of a passive bather. "Both, the pose and technique emphasize musculature, contained within a tightly structured composition." (Challenge of A-G p.150)  The stance of the figure and the method of painting make the painting distance itself from any reading of classicism.