Gustave Caillebotte

Feature image: The Floor Scrapers (1875) via Bvlgari Hotel Paris

Gustave Caillebotte was a famous French Impressionist. Many of his paintings focused on the clothed and nude male figure, which offered realism. The men in his artwork always did something natural, like rowing, bathing, or washing. This differs from other artists who mastered realism, such as  Edward Hopper. Hopper painted various images of men, women, and buildings. Despite Caillebotte having died 130 years ago, contemporary art critics are debating if his artwork conveyed the realism of men or his sexuality. 

Gustave Caillebotte was born on August 19th, 1848, in Paris, France, and died on February 21st, 1894, in Greeneville, France. He was a French artist known for painting impressionism and realism. Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste  Renoir  introduced him to Impressionist styles and exhibits. In his lifetime, his artwork was featured at Musee d’Orsay, an atrium in Paris, France. Caillebotte painted men doing various mundane activities emphasizing realism, such as bathing, scrubbing the floor, or sitting in a boat. His form of realism is seen in his artwork: The Floor Scrapers (1875), Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877), Oarsmen Rowing on the Yerres (1877), Man at His Bath (1884), and Man drying his leg (1884). Yet, interestingly, there isn’t much known about Caillebotte as he was private and did not make much of a public appearance. The Grand Palais in Paris celebrated his legacy in 1994, marking one hundred years since his death. To this day, Caillebotte’s artwork has been broadcast in Paris, Switzerland, London, and the United States. 

Decades later, there has been a lot of criticism of Caillebotte as an artist and the true intentions behind his art. Recently, on October 31^st, 2024, Sarah Belmont, a writer for Artnet, wrote an article about Gustave Caillebotte, and she acknowledged within her article that Caillebotte was queer. As mentioned, Caillebotte painted various men during everyday mundane activities for realism. Art critics and writers believe his artwork implies more than meets the eye. According to Devorah, “Caillebotte’s singular focus on the male figure, the only of the Impressionists to consistently turn his gaze to masculine musculatures and the all-male spaces of the bourgeoisie: awe-inspiring soldiers that he spotted while in the military, family members, smartly clad passers-by, bare-chested workers, oarsmen, and more fill his tableaux.” Therefore, there’s an argument if Caillebotte was gay or if he was admiring the male form. Ironically, this is no different than Michaelangelo carving the statue of  David. Art critics, writers, and viewers must keep in mind that given the eras when both Caillebotte and Michaelangelo were alive, queerness and homosexuality were not socially acceptable, unlike today. So, Caillebotte and Michanagleo honored their desires and interests through their art. 

Gustave Caillebotte has left a mysterious legacy that keeps viewers and art critics interpreting his meaning. Yet, it’s heavily implied Caillebotte left some “queer impressions” in his artwork. Given he was alive during the nineteenth century when homosexuality and queerness were not celebrated, it’s terrific now, in the 21st century, it is. Thus, Caillebotte was ahead of his time and continues to live through his artwork. 

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