Gustave Caillebotte (pronounced Kai-Bot) was an unlikely candidate to become one of the French Impressionists. At age 22, he had given no thought to becoming an artist. He was a wealthy young man and an exceptional student. He had already earned a law degree and was also trained as an engineer.

However, due to national events, he was drafted into the Garde Nationale Mobile de la Seine to fight in the Franco-Prussian War. He served only nine months, from July 1870 until March 1871, but the war changed his outlook on life and his goals.

His service in the National Guard during the siege of Paris deepened his sense of civic responsibility, which later manifested in his support of fellow Impressionist artists.

At age 23, he picked up a brush and painted seriously for the first time. He chose to study art at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Along the way, he met Edgar Degas.

As an engineer, lawyer, and veteran soldier, Caillebotte was organized, disciplined, and knew how to get things done—a skill-set uncommon among artists. Yet these qualities made him especially valuable to the Impressionist movement. He not only became a painter, but supported his friends and helped establish the Impressionist Movement both in his time and for the ages.

Because of his growing interest in art and a new friendship with Edgar Degas, Caillebotte was an important attendee at the first Impressionist Exhibition in 1874.

Although he did not exhibit any of his own paintings or make any purchases of works from the other artists, the 25-year-old Caillebotte established important friendships with Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro.

Over the next two decades of his all-too-brief life, Gustave Caillebotte helped advance Impressionism in three major ways.

First, he became an active Impressionist painter. In this article are photos of some of his most well-known works, showcasing a variety of his favored subjects.

Second, due to a sizable inheritance, he became a major patron of the Impressionists. He purchased many works by his fellow artists—including Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Pissarro, and Sisley—offering them crucial financial support and helping sustain them during their “lean artistic years.”

Third, Caillebotte had a premonition that he would die young. At the age of 28, he wrote his will. He wisely arranged for his extensive and ever-growing collection of Impressionist paintings to remain intact and be displayed together in a French national museum after his death. He died of a stroke in 1894 at the age of 45.

Had it not been for Gustave Caillebotte and his bequest of his collection of Impressionist paintings, the history of Impressionism would have been differently written. Without his will, the great works of French Impressionism may have been dispersed throughout France and around the world. Some may have been lost, either sold to obscure museums or into private collections or even lost to history.

One of Caillebotte’s most celebrated works, The Floor Scrapers (Les Raboteurs de parquet) captures a trio of shirtless workers planing a wooden floor in his own apartment. The painting was rejected by the Salon in 1875 due to its depiction of urban laborers—a subject considered inappropriate for high art. In response, Caillebotte exhibited the work at the Second Impressionist Exhibition in 1876, aligning himself with the avant-garde.

In 2010, The Floor Scrapers was exhibited at the de Young Museum in San Francisco as part of Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay. Viewers were captivated by the painting’s luminous surface and by Caillebotte’s sensitive portrayal of physical exertion, framed by natural light pouring through a window onto a wrought-iron balcony—an unmistakable hallmark of Haussmann’s Paris.

Caillebotte admired artists of the previous generation such as Jean-François Millet and Gustave Courbet, who had painted French peasants in rustic settings. However, he transposed their spirit of dignity and labor into the modern, industrialized world, offering a bold and empathetic image of the urban working class.

Set at the Place de Dublin, a six-point intersection near the Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris Street, Rainy Day is among Caillebotte’s most iconic masterpieces. Measuring nearly 7 by 10 feet, the painting evokes a moment of quiet detachment amidst the bustling new Paris.

Caillebotte, who had grown up nearby when this area was still a hilltop of winding medieval streets, presents the city transformed. Wide boulevards, modern apartment buildings, and elegantly dressed pedestrians are arranged with photographic precision. The composition anticipates the formal innovations of Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884), while simultaneously reflecting the detached, observational style of urban realism.

First exhibited at the 1877 Impressionist Exhibition—an event Caillebotte himself helped organize—Paris Street; Rainy Day was celebrated for its modern subject matter and masterful technique.

In Balcony, Boulevard Haussmann, two elegantly dressed men step onto a narrow balcony, momentarily retreating from an interior space into the open air. Below them stretches a tree-lined boulevard, emblematic of Haussmann’s redesigned Paris. Caillebotte’s fascination with perspective is fully on display, as is his ongoing interest in the relationship between private interior life and the expanding modern metropolis.

Young Man at his Window shows a young man gazing out from a Parisian apartment window. The figure is Caillebotte’s brother René, framed by the balustrade of their family home on Boulevard Haussmann. The work reflects both the contemplative spirit of modern leisure and the subtle drama of urban observation—a man looking out at a city that is itself in the midst of reinvention.

Looking at the Boulevard Below offers an elevated view of pedestrians on the sidewalk below, drawing inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints, a major influence on the Impressionists.

Caillebotte adopts a bird’s-eye perspective, cropping figures and leaving expanses of negative space—techniques borrowed from Japanese print artists like Hokusai and Hiroshige.

The scene likely depicts the street below the Caillebotte family’s apartment on a spring afternoon. Though the figures appear unconnected, they are unified within the composition by the delicate branches of a blossoming tree—a poetic metaphor for the shared rhythms of city life.

Japanese prints introduced European artists to alternative ways of seeing: decorative patterns, flat color, asymmetry, and scenes of everyday life. Caillebotte translated these ideas into a uniquely Parisian idiom, combining technical rigor with emotional resonance.

Caillebotte's Boulevard des Italiens captures a bustling Parisian street from an intriguing high vantage point, looking down as the boulevard stretches toward the horizon. His elevated perspectives, often painted from Parisian balconies, reflect Caillebotte's deep fascination with the modern urban landscape. This particular scene appears to take place in autumn or early winter: the trees are rendered in muted brown tones, and the figures are dressed in dark, heavy coats—markedly different from the vibrant colors and light clothing seen in Caillebotte’s summer scenes.

Rooftops in the Snow was first exhibited at the Fourth Impressionist Exhibition in 1879, one of 25 paintings Caillebotte contributed to the show. At the time, it received far less attention than his portraits and nautical scenes, but today it is considered one of his more significant works. In this painting, Caillebotte employs a monochromatic palette of grays, with subtle touches of color highlighting certain buildings. Scenes of Parisian rooftops were uncommon in paintings at the time, making this an especially distinctive and forward-looking work.

Boating on the Yerres is the largest canvas among seven boating paintings created by Caillebotte near his family estate along the River Yerres. The angled shoreline of the river creates a visual effect that enhances the sense of the current's acceleration as the kayaks paddle downstream. The painting's play of light—backlighting the boaters and reflecting off the water—is remarkable. In 2013, Boating on the Yerres was exhibited in San Francisco as part of the Impressionists on Water exhibition at the Legion of Honor. The exhibition coincided with San Francisco’s hosting of the America’s Cup that same year.

In the late 1870s, Caillebotte painted a number of boating scenes. These paddlers are navigating the waters of the River Yerres, near his family’s estate. As both a passionate painter and an avid rower, he combines his two interests in these works. He particularly enjoyed experimenting with the effects of light on rippling water. Skiff appears to be unfinished, or it may have served as a study for other paintings of rowers. The kayaker's forearms are unusually shortened, and his obscured face is rendered with little detail—yet the scene retains a dreamy and inviting quality.

Oarsmen on the Yerres captures the athletic action occurring in brilliant light, both from above and reflected off the water. The two oarsmen are shown in extreme close-up, emphasizing their physical exertion. The artist uses dynamic brushstrokes to convey the energy of the scene and the shimmering reflection of light on the water. The tans and oranges of the wooden boat hull and the woven hats contrast with the greens of the water’s surface, creating a striking and impactful composition.

Richard Gallo and His Dog at Petit Gennevilliers depicts Caillebotte's close friend Richard Gallo, a journalist and fellow member of the bourgeoisie, walking his dog along a shaded pathway by the River Seine in the Parisian suburb of Petit Gennevilliers."

Portraits in the Countryside features four women—three engaged in needlework and one absorbed in a book. Their formal attire suggests that they may be on a day trip from Paris. While there is no documentation to confirm this, the two women dressed in black appear to echo James Whistler’s Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1—commonly known as Whistler’s Mother—painted five years earlier. My initial guess is that this is Caillebotte’s subtle homage to Whistler. Further research is needed. These four women could be relatives or close friends of the artist. The dappled shade of the trees and the vibrant red blooms of the raised flowerbed enhance the scene’s charm, evoking a tranquil afternoon in the countryside.

The Promenade, Couple Walking in the Countryside depicts a man and woman leisurely strolling through a verdant, wooded landscape near an elegant, gated residence. The interplay of dappled sunlight and the woman’s blue dress suggests that Caillebotte may have drawn inspiration from his fellow Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who painted The Swing during the same summer. Like many Impressionists, Caillebotte had a fondness for portraying figures with umbrellas—a motif he used prominently in his renowned work Paris Street; Rainy Day. The locaiton of this painting is believed to be near Yerres, a southwest suburb of Paris.

The Bezique Game captures a ritualized moment of bourgeois leisure in late 19th-century Paris. Five well-dressed gentlemen, including Caillebotte’s close friend Richard Gallo, are seen deeply absorbed in the complex card game of Bézique—a popular pastime of the era, famously enjoyed by figures like Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill. Their formal attire and thoughtful expressions—some even biting their pipes—signal the seriousness with which they approach the game. In contrast, a sixth man reclines in the background, seemingly detached, his attention elsewhere. The rich red velvet of the chair and the elegant interior details subtly underscore the social status and refined environment of these men of means.

In a Café captures the quiet interior of a Parisian café, where a solitary gentleman stands with his hands in his pockets, seemingly waiting—perhaps for a table, or simply lost in thought. Behind him, a large mirror reflects the scene unfolding within the space: two other men seated at a table, engaged in conversation.

At first glance, the composition—with its prominent central figure and reflective backdrop—recalls Edouard Manet’s famous Bar at the Folies-Bergère. However, a closer look at the dates reveals something interesting: Caillebotte painted In a Café in 1877, five years before Manet completed his work in 1882. It raises an intriguing possibility—perhaps it was Manet who borrowed the concept of the mirrored interior from Caillebotte, not the other way around.

Interior, Woman at the Window portrays a quiet, emotionally charged moment between a man and a woman in their Paris apartment. The man sits absorbed in his newspaper, seemingly unconcerned for what the woman is

thinking or feeling as she stands at the window. She seems to set her gaze beyond the lacy curtains to the street below. Her posture suggests a longing or restlessness, as if she yearns for something outside the boundaries, as if she's feeling trapped in this space.

This is visual storytelling at its most subtle and poignant—a scene steeped in unspoken tension. The emotional distance between the figures hints at a relationship strained or paused, perhaps reflecting the quiet disconnection that can settle into everyday life. The models are believed to be Geneviève Caillebotte, the artist’s cousin, and Martial Caillebotte, his brother.

Man at His Bath captures an intimate, everyday moment as a gentleman dries himself after stepping out of the bathtub. Seen from behind, his nude figure is silhouetted against a softly backlit white curtain, the morning's light filtering through and gently illuminating the scene.

Caillebotte renders the man’s body with sculptural precision with accurate anatomy but without exaggeration or idealization. The mood is quiet and understated—a private moment of reflection before he presents himself for an otherwise noisy and public world.

The title Naked Woman Lying on a Couch is as straightforward as the painting itself—unembellished and direct. True to its name, it presents a woman simply and naturally reclining on a couch, without any mythological pretense or symbolic flourish. This is a quiet, personal moment rendered with honest realism—a glimpse into modern, private intimacy.

The woman rests comfortably on a richly upholstered couch, her body partially covered by a fine comforter. Her head is nestled into soft pillows, and the gentle curves of her form are echoed in the folds of the fabric around her. The scene is serene and grounded, offering a sense of warmth and quietude that emphasizes the authenticity of the moment

Gustave Caillebotte's story is one of passion, vision, and selfless devotion—not just to art, but to a movement that changed the course of modern painting.

If I could magically step into the role of a museum curator, I would be thrilled to create an exhibition dedicated to telling Gustave Caillebotte's remarkable story.

Though born into privilege, Caillebotte was not idle. He studied law, explored engineering, and was deeply patriotic. His experience in the Franco-Prussian War exposed him to the harsh realities of conflict—the suffering, the sacrifice, and the complex duality of horror and honor.

After the war, his perspective shifted. He turned toward art with genuine passion, eventually finding himself among a new circle of like-minded creatives—the painters we now know as the Impressionists.

Caillebotte worked earnestly to be accepted as one of them. But more than that, he became one of their greatest champions. Using his inherited wealth, he supported his fellow artists—buying their work, funding exhibitions, and providing the kind of backing few others were willing to offer at the time.

His generosity extended beyond his life. In his will, Caillebotte bequeathed his extraordinary collection of Impressionist paintings to the French government, with the stipulation that these paintings be preserved and displayed as a unified whole in a national museum. That legacy, known as the Caillebotte Bequest, became the foundation for what is now the unparalleled Impressionist collection of the Musée d'Orsay.