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GustaveCaillebotte: ThePainter’sEye National Gallery of Art (Washington) From the 28 th June until the 4 th October 2015 Organized by the National Gallery of Art and the Kimbell Art Museum, FortWorth Curated byMaryMorton, curator and head of French paintings (National Gallery of Art) and George Shackelford, deputy director (Kimbell Art Museum) G. Caillebotte (1848-1894) was a French painter,member andpatronof the group of artists known as Impressionists, though hepainted in amuchmore realisticmanner thanmany other artists in the group. Caillebottewas noted for his early interest inphotography as an art form. The artist was among themost critically noted impressionist artists during the height of their activity in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Some 45paintings from 1875 to 1882—theperiod inwhichCaillebotte was fully engagedwith the impressionist movement—will provide a focused understandingof theprovocative character and complexity of his artistic contributions, from spectacular images of the newpublic GustaveCaillebotte Yerres, orilladel riobajo la lluvia/ Yerres, Riverbank in theRain , 1875 IndianaUniversityArtMuseum, Bloomington (Indiana, USA) GustaveCaillebotte. En el PuentedeEuropa / On the Europebridge , 1876-1877. Kimbell ArtMuseum, Fort Worth, Texas (USA) spaces designedbyBaronHaussmann to visual meditations on leisure-time activities in and aroundParis. Caillebottewas a uniqueplayer in the impressionist movement andhisworkwas out of public view for almost a century, remaining inprivate collections. Born into awealthy Parisianuppermiddle-class family, Caillebotte obtained a lawdegree andwas a veteranof the Franco-Prussian War. He joinedLéonBonnat’s studio andpassed the entrance exam for the ÉcoledesBeaux-Arts in 1873, but his participationwasminimal. Having inherited a large fortune from his parents, Caillebotte hadno need to sell his own paintings and could focus on collecting thework of his artist- friends instead. Hewas attractedby the innovative spirit of the artistswhowere tobecome known as the impressionists. Originally invitedby Edgar Degas toparticipate in the first impressionist exhibition in 1874, Caillebottedidnot join the groupuntil 1876, at AugusteRenoir’s invitation. Caillebotte was one of the regular participants in the group’s exhibitions. Hedied young and his bequest left a collectionof 69 impressionistmasterpieces to the Frenchgovernment. The will was contestedby his heirs, a compromisewas reached, and 38 impressionistmasterpieceswere accessionedby the government and currently reside at theMuséed’Orsay inParis. The rest of his paintings –more than 400works– remain in the collectionof his family. The exhibition showcasesCaillebotte’s fascinationwith the contemporary lifestyle of theParisianbourgeoisie, from depictions of interior life, portraits, and still lifes, tourban street views and idyllic river scenes.Many of theworks on viewwere completedbetween1875 and 1885, theperiod in whichCaillebottewasmost involvedwith the impressionist movement. Caillebotte sought todepict contemporary home life in the French capital, such as interior vantagepoints and views from the inside lookingout. Caillebotte grewup in thedestruction/construction zone of the 8tharrondissement inParis, one of the newneighbourhoods built duringNapoleon III’s massive urban renewal project of the 1850s and 1860s. His response to themodern citywas quite personal and there is something in his aesthetic that speaks directly to 21st-century urbandwellers MaryMorton 37