Caillebotte
Painting men

The ‘Caillebotte. Painting men’ exhibition focuses on Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) and his predilection for masculine forms and portraits of men, and seeks to examine this artist’s profoundly radical modernity through the lens of art history’s changing perspective on 19th-century forms of masculinity.

Gustave Caillebotte
A bold, modern vision of masculinity

Seeking authenticity, Caillebotte drew inspiration from his surroundings: Haussmann’s Paris, country houses, and his male acquaintances, including family, workers, and boating friends.

He introduced novel figures to art: urban workers, balcony men, sportsmen, and even intimate male nudes. In an era of prevailing virility and republican fraternity, yet with traditional masculinity in crisis, these powerful images challenged social and sexual norms.

As a young Parisian bachelor, Caillebotte brought profound questions about masculinity to Impressionism and Modernism.

A historic exhibition between Paris, Los Angeles and Chicago

This project stems from recent acquisitions by the J. Paul Getty Museum (Young Man at His Window) and Musée d’Orsay (A Boating Party), and features Paris Street; Rainy Day from the Art Institute of Chicago.

The exhibition showcases about 70 works, including Caillebotte’s key figure paintings, pastels, sketches, photographs, and documents.

Coinciding with the 130th anniversary of Caillebotte’s death (1894) and his Impressionist collection bequest, the entire legacy will be displayed in a temporary exhibition, echoing the 1897 “Caillebotte Gallery” at the Musée du Luxembourg.

This is one of a long series of exhibitions, beginning with a major retrospective in 1994-1995 (Paris, Chicago), which have allowed the public to reconnect with Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) and have shed light on certain aspects of his work: the Yerres period, the connection between his paintings and photography, and his passion for garden design, amongst others.

The exhibition will be on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, from 25 February to 25 May 2025, and at the Art Institute of Chicago from 29 June to 5 October 2025.

Curatorship

• Scott Allan, Curator of Paintings, The J. Paul Getty Museum
• Gloria Groom, Chair and Winton Green Curator, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, The Art Institute of Chicago
• Paul Perrin, Curator and head of conservation and collections, Musée d’Orsay.