Simply Lou: An Artist of Style and Generosity

article by LOU DAVENPORT

Style is defined in the dictionary as a manner of doing something – a way of painting, composing, or building that is characteristic of a particular period, place, or movement. Generosity is the quality of being kind and generous.

I discovered an almost unknown artist that had both style and generosity. His name, Gustave Caillebotte. I had seen one of his paintings once several years ago, and was quite taken with it. I never forgot that painting, but I had no idea how to say the artist’s odd name. In my Southern drawl, and my not knowing French, I thought it was probably,“Cail a boat,” but it’s pronounced “Ki bot.”

Back when this quarantine began, I posted a painting a day by a different artist on my Facebook page. I included some information about each painting and the artist. People seemed to enjoy them. I don’t even know how the idea came to me, but I’ve continued doing this, and I’m still posting each day. It’s my small way to do something positive in these uncertain times.

When I started posting the Impressionists; Renoir, Degas, and Monet, I found that artist with the odd name, Caillebotte, among them. The one painting I had seen all those years ago was among the work of the others. The name was “Rainy Day; Paris Street.” The painting was quite different from the other Impressionists work, and I wanted to know more. I wanted to see more, and know more about this somewhat elusive man.

At the time, Paris was undergoing drastic changes. The slums were being torn down to provide better sanitation and better housing. With these changes came new jobs, better lives for the lower class, and an overall plan that would eventually lead to making Paris a true city of the future. This was the world in which Gustav Caillebotte lived. He recorded these changes in his paintings, with many being done from his balcony, looking down upon the beautiful new boulevards.

Caillebotte was born into a wealthy French family. His father had made a fortune providing beds and linens to the French military, and in real estate. He was the oldest child with two brothers, Rene’ and Martial. The family was close and lived in Paris in an upper class apartment that overlooked the new and modern Paris. They also enjoyed the country estate his father had bought on the Yerres River.

At Yerres, the family enjoyed swimming, boating and fishing. Young Gustav would develop a lifelong love of boating, and that passion shows up in many of his paintings.

As in most wealthy families back then, Gustav went to law school and became a lawyer. Later, he also became an engineer. His engineering background certainly shows up in every one of his works. He was a master of perspective and detail.

Tragedy befell Caillebotte when he lost his father first, followed by the death of his younger brother, Rene, in a matter of months. In two years, his mother died as well. The family fortune went to Gustav and Martial, and it freed them to pursue their own interests.

Although he could have remained a lawyer or an engineer, Gustav wanted to become an artist. He was able to afford to go to the prestigious Ecole des Beaux Arts, and also to be able to study with many notable artists. But, he grew bored and quit. He wanted to paint, but he wanted to paint his way. Caillebotte had a small circle of wealthy friends and through them met the Impressionist, Edgar Degas. This meeting lead to Caillebotte being introduced to the others, and eventually he became known as “The Reluctant Impressionist.”

All the Impressionists were of the middle class and depended upon the sales of their paintings. Caillebotte didn’t have to, but even though he exhibited his work with them, he also became their patron and financed the Impressionist Exhibitions each year. He helped these artists in other ways too, like paying rent for studios, homes, and purchasing work from them. He amassed a large collection of Impressionist work that was eventually bequeathed to France upon his death. His generosity was responsible for the largest collection of Impressionist work at the Musee’ d’ Orsay in Paris.

Caillebotte admired the Impressionists work, but his was different. His work is not always happy or colorful like theirs. While their work showed people having fun in their leisure time, Caillebotte’s were somewhat lonely, with people’s faces usually turned away from the viewer. He showed people doing everyday things, but they were usually not engaged with one another. They were on the mysterious side, but they were also beautiful, full of details, had interesting view points and perspectives. He had the ability to draw his viewers in and almost make them feel as if they were actually there, watching whatever was going on.

He and his brother, Martial, bought an apartment along one of the famous Paris boulevards. Caillebotte set up his studio there. Martial became a notable composer, played the piano, and became interested in a new fangled thing called photography. The paintings from this period of his life show times were good for the two bachelors. They could entertain their circle of friends and, again, many of the paintings were of just that….people doing everyday things.

The brothers also used their resources to buy another country estate near Paris at Petit Grenvillers. Caillebotte became interested in botany and horticulture during this time. He built greenhouses and even developed an early version of a sprinkler system. He had the brick fenced gardens all painted white to reflect more light. Petit Grenvillers became as beautiful as Monet’s at Giverny. These two men became great friends, and the correspondence between them shows them sharing their knowledge and discoveries about their different plants.

That garden was also a place that Caillebotte produced some of his most beautiful work. He painted his roses, irises, dahlias, and orangery, beautiful pathways. He painted his family in some paintings, usually absorbed into reading or strolling. It seemed he had a way to render realism with just a few brushstrokes of beautiful color. But, they were still not quite in the style known of the Impressionists. They were “his style.”

Caillebotte continued to organize, finance, and exhibit in the annual Impressionist Exhibitions but grew weary of the “in fighting” among them, and had a falling out with Degas. He felt Degas was letting inferior work into the exhibitions, and, well, they just ended up having a big argument about it. The next year’s exhibition would prove to be Caillebotte’s last one. He was hurt, it is said, so much by this event that he would feel the hurt for the rest of his life. He left all the drama, and retreated to his beloved Petit Grenvillers, to eventually become a semi-recluse. It is said he only did three paintings that year.

It was about this time that Caillebotte started building boats… beautiful boats. He designed and constructed canoes, skiffs, row boats, and his beloved sailboats. From all accounts, he was quite a yachtsman and eventually started a ship yard on the River Seine to build sailboats. 21 boats were built and they served as the premier sailboat design well into the early 1900’s. He started the famous regattas that took place on the River Seine, and took part in them as well. Each year he made a trip to participate in France’s largest regatta that was held in Normandy.

Caillebotte only lived to be 45 years old, but he lived each one of those to the fullest. He was fortunate to have the wealth to be generous to his fellow artists while not being concerned about the sales of his own. That is one of the reasons Caillebotte remained almost unknown until the 1970’s. He painted at least 500 or more paintings and drawings that remained with his family. They in turn were passed down, and not many people saw them. Many are now in private collections, and the owners rarely loan their priceless paintings to exhibitions of his work, although retrospective exhibitions have started. His paintings come up for auction on occasion, and when they do, they bring 8 million dollars or more.

Caillebotte’s work did make it to the United States when the Houston Museum of Art was able to purchase one. They were the first to own one. One of his most famous, “Rainy Day; Paris Street” is owned by the Art Institute of Chicago.

This is my fifth anniversary of writing “Simply Lou” for BayouLife. It isn’t my “usual,” but I knew I wanted to make it special. Caillebotte was special, and he was a man of great style. He was multi-talented, had many interests, and great generosity. I hope by writing about him, others will discover and appreciate him, too. It is way past time for him to get the recognition he richly deserves.

Caillebotte was handsome, and certainly a well dressed young man. He had style in spades. To quote a song by ZZ Top, “Every girl crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man.”