French impressionist and realist painter Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) often painted with an emphasis on men and the masculine. In a collaboration between the J. Paul Getty Museum, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and Art Institute of Chicago, a curated selection of Caillebotte’s paintings, drawings, and photographs are now on display at the Getty until May 25, 2025.
Who Was Gustave Caillebotte?
Born in Paris to a wealthy family in 1848, Gustave Caillebotte had a normal childhood and education before being drafted to fight in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. After a year of fighting, Caillebotte returned home and became interested in painting. He began studying where and when he could, including at the École des Beaux-Arts, but only for a brief period of time. In a few years’ time, Caillebotte was able to make friends with a number of artists who were part of the “Impressionists,” the group of artists who refused to show their art in the Paris Salon.
Caillebotte exhibited his first collection of paintings at the second Impressionist exhibition in 1876, the most famous of the bunch being The Floor Scrapers. The painting depicts a group of men on their hands and knees, working hard to scrub the wooden floors of a room. Such a portrayal of men was culturally deemed to be unsightly and inappropriate, making the artwork a perfect fit for the Impressionist movement.
Between time spent in the military and with his brothers and male friends, Caillebotte’s artworks became a means of communicating what he thought of masculinity in the late 19th century, and how he viewed those around him. A plethora of paintings of life in its most raw form—work, recreation, daily life—dominated the catalog of Gustave Caillebotte.
Caillebotte’s Style at the Getty
Flip-flopping between Realist and Impressionist styles of painting, Painting Men exhibits the full extent to which Caillebotte would take his paintings. Pushing the boundaries of art at the time with paintings that portray things such as men at work or fresh out of the bath, Caillebotte took genres of art that were typically reserved for female subjects and turned them male. Quoting Scott Allan, head curator of the Getty, “He was unusually curious about the men in his world, showing them in public and private, indoors and out, at work, play and rest, in various modes of dress, and from all kinds of riveting angels and viewpoints. He really broadened the scope of modern painting, and his work productively challenges our clichéd understandings of the Impressionist movement.”
What the team at the Getty has done is taken all of these paintings of people in various places, doing various things, and grouped them into categories such as “military men” and “working men.” Coupled with the precise placement of walls and the paintings themselves within the exhibit, Painting Men presents the works of Caillebotte as they deserve to be seen. Even the crimson colors of the walls were a very intentional choice, made to accentuate certain colors within the paintings and to bring an even more masculine feeling to the exhibition overall, according to Allan.
Most Notable Works on Display
Of the 100+ paintings and drawings on display, there are a few that are quite well-known by many art enthusiasts. Let’s dive in.
Paris Street, Rainy Day (1877)
The green lamppost in the center of Paris Street, Rainy Day (1877) immediately grabs the eye of the viewer and draws them into the center of this busy day on the streets of 19th-century Paris. The image is almost spherical in nature, with everything seemingly surrounding and pointing towards the center of the painting. Such an image would be nearly impossible to capture with a camera.
Young Man at His Window (1876)
Caillebotte, a photography enthusiast, was very ahead of his time in painting such a cinematic image of a man looking out his window onto the Parisian street below. The contrast between the bright and colorful street and the dark and ominous young man is broodingly delightful. One could stare at this work for hours.
The Bezique Game (1881)
Set in the Caillebotte Brothers’ apartment and featuring Martial Caillebotte and many of the brothers’ friends, The Bezique Game shows life as it was in 1880s Paris. Five men gathered around a game, smoking, drinking, carrying on. One man slumped on a sofa in the background. A common scene then, a common scene now.
Painting Men is open to the public at the Getty in Los Angeles from February 25 to May 25, 2025. Admission is free to both the museum and the exhibition.
