Gustave Caillebotte exhibit- Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting a Gustave Caillebotte exhibition titled Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World. The exhibit runs from June to October 5, 2025.

Although I have seen some of his famous paintings he is not an artist that I knew much about.

This large scale photograph of the artist and his dog was taken in 1892 by his brother, Martial Caillebotte

The Boating Party

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The Boating Party or Oarsman in a Tophat, is considered one of Caillebotte's most important works. It was exhibited first in 1878. For a long time, the painting was held by Caillebotte's descendants, until it was acquired by the Musée d'Orsay in 2022 and is considered a "National Treasure" of France.

In The Boating Party, the viewer is placed directly in the boat with the rower. That perspective was unusual for the time.

Bought by the wealthy Caillebotte family in 1860, their estate was located on the banks of the Yerres River and inspired over 80 of the artists paintings. Today it serves as a public park and museum.

​Gustave Caillebotte painted "The Skiffs" or "Canoeists on the Yerres," in 1877. He uses a variety of blues, greens, and whites to create a dazzling, effect of light shimmering on the water.

This painting belongs to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC

The exhibit features more than 120 works, including paintings, drawings, and photographs. This post will focus on the series he created depicting people rowing and canoeing on the Yerres River near his family's estate in Yerres, France.

There are more photos taken at the exhibit of some of his other paintings including Paris street scenes, landscapes, portraits and still lifes, I will do another post or two showing more of the exhibit.