Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter's Eye, Hardcover

Though largely out of the public eye for more than a century, Gustave Caillebotte (1848 94) has come to be recognized as one of the most dynamic and original artists of the impressionist movement in Paris. His paintings are favorites of museum-goers, and recent restoration of his work has revealed more color, texture, and detail than was visible before while heightening interest in all of Caillebotte s artwork. This lush companion volume to the National Gallery of Art s major new exhibition, coorganized with the Kimbell Art Museum, explores the power and technical brilliance of his oeuvre.
The book features fifty of Caillebotte s strongest paintings, including post-conservation images of "Paris Street; Rainy Day, "along with "The Floorscrapers" and "Pont de l Europe," all of which date from a particularly fertile period between 1875 and 1882. The artist was criticized at the time for being too realistic and not impressionistic enough, but he was a pioneer in adopting the angled perspective of a modern camera to compose his scenes. Caillebotte s skill and originality are evident even in the book s reproductions, and the essays offer critical insights into his inspiration and subjects.
This sumptuously illustrated publication makes clear why Caillebotte is among the most intriguing artists of nineteenth-century France, and it deepens our understanding of the history of impressionism."