On the 21st of February 1894, Gustave Caillebotte died at age 46. He had built a solid and imposing body of work within a relatively short period - nineteen years.
His work has long been neglected and his life as a painter often obscured by the part which he played in the development of Impressionism as an art collector.
Between Monet's ardent, free style, and the Naturalism of Degas with whom he shared an appetite for modernity, he appears as a singularly original artist. His work focuses on modern themes. Where Impressionism was torn between a respect for the pictorial tradition and the urge to rid itself of the limitations of this same tradition, Gustave Caillebotte succeeded in accomplishing an innovative and coherent body of work.
His work has long been neglected and his life as a painter often obscured by the part which he played in the development of Impressionism as an art collector.
Between Monet's ardent, free style, and the Naturalism of Degas with whom he shared an appetite for modernity, he appears as a singularly original artist. His work focuses on modern themes. Where Impressionism was torn between a respect for the pictorial tradition and the urge to rid itself of the limitations of this same tradition, Gustave Caillebotte succeeded in accomplishing an innovative and coherent body of work.
