This famous work by Gustave Caillebotte is called The Floor Scrapers (or Les raboteurs de parquet in French) and was painted in 1875. It depicts three hard working men scraping a wooden floor in a middle class apartment.
The conservative Paris Salon rejected the work in 1875 for being too "vulgar."
The French art establishment, including the powerful École des Beaux-Arts, viewed Impressionism with disdain. They considered the works to be radical and "filth,".
Gustave Caillebotte had inherited wealth from his father and didn't need to sell his paintings to survive like many of his friends did. He used his money to provide financial support for many struggling artist
friends and he purchased more than 70 works by artists such as Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, and Sisley and his private collection was impressive.
Gustave Caillebotte bequeathed his entire art collection to the French state in his will
After Caillebotte's death in 1894, the government refused to accept this highly controversial donation and his brother Martial and his close friend and executor, Auguste Renoir, spent years negotiating with the government to honor the bequest. A portion of the collection—40 works out of a total of nearly 70—was begrudgingly accepted and exhibited. The remaining rejected works were passed down to Caillebotte's family.
This generous donation now forms the core of what is now the world-renowned Impressionist collection at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
Over the years, many of these "rejected" works, as well as paintings by Caillebotte himself, were sold on the open market and to private collectors, including prominent American art patrons.
Interior, Woman Reading"
Date: 1880
This painting subtly challenges gender norms of the time, as reading a newspaper was often considered a male activity, while the male figure behind her is shown reclining with a novel, an activity considered more feminine.
The work is titled Rose Garden at Petit Gennevilliers (1886). painted in the rose garden of his property at Petit-Gennevilliers, a town northwest of Paris on the Seine river.
A avid gardener himself this painting shows his interest in capturing the beauty of nature and the tranquility of his own garden.
This painting is titled Man on a Road at Argenteuil (1882). Of course I love the shadows that show Caillebotte's interest in the effects of light.
A self-portrait of the artist, Caillebotte this painting is titled Man Walking Down a Road, Hay Harvest (1884).
More information about the Gustave Caillebotte exhibit in these posts.
@melinda010100/gustave-caillebotte-exhibit-chicago
@melinda010100/paris-street-rainy-day
I have enjoyed learning about this artist and hope you have too!
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