Why’d They Put That In A Museum?
Show Notes
Artist: Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848 – 1894)
Item: Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1877
Details: Oil on canvas, 83 ½ x 108 ¾ in. Art Institute of Chicago
Paris Street; Rainy Day
Gustave Caillebotte
How do you capture a view of a modern city? Back in 1877, Paris was going through a transformation and the Impressionist artist Gustave Caillebotte documented it with masterful skill in Paris Street; Rainy Day.
The city and costumes look old to us today, but viewers in 1877 interpreted this scene of wide boulevards, uniform buildings, and gas lampposts as wholly modern. The work is nearly life-size and carefully detailed, which is different from the lively brushwork and soft focus of many of Caillebotte’s Impressionist colleagues.
Sarah explains the unexpected composition, showing numerous pedestrians walking through a Parisian intersection, all headed in different directions. She discusses how Caillebotte made this painting, developing multiple studies with a camera lucida prism. Listen to this podcast and discover why this artwork is one of the signature paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Contact Us
Say helloAbout the Podcasters
Sarah Lees
Sarah is a museum curator and researcher who has worked in organizations both large and small, and who remembers her first assignment for an art history class – to look into Rembrandt’s eyes and describe what she saw there. She believes everyone can find those kinds of connections to some form of creative expression, whether it’s a painting, a grandmother’s quilt, or a perfectly formed pen-stroke in a manuscript.
Beth Bacon
In addition to being an avid museum-goer, Beth Bacon is an author for young readers. Her books empower today’s kids to learn about themselves and the world through reading. She is also a teacher and branding consultant and a volunteer at the Missouri History Museum. Beth holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, an MA in Communication Arts from NYU, and a BA in Literature from Harvard University.
Music Credit
The music you hear in the intro and outro was composed by Edward Whelan. We appreciate his contribution to our podcast.
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