Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day, Explained

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} // if ('scrollRestoration' in history) { history.scrollRestoration = 'manual'; } </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/at.js?v=3.130.14" async ></script> <script> dataLayer = []; </script> <script type="text/javascript">(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= '//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-5W6NC8'); </script> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "VideoObject", "uploadDate": "2023-10-24T01:34:23.534", "name" : "<em>Paris Street; Rainy Day<\/em> and a vision of the modern city", "description": "Painted in 1877, Gustave Caillebotte's <em>Paris Street; Rainy Day<\/em> exemplifies Paris's transition from an ancient city to a modern metropolis.", "duration" : "PT2M36S", "contentUrl" : "//content.jwplatform.com/videos/MZGUibb3-Qc3NyWj4.mp4", "thumbnailUrl" : "https://cdn.britannica.com/60/250260-138-09F49202/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day-Gustave-Caillebotte-1877.jpg", "transcript" : "Paris Street; Rainy Day represents a turning point between old and new. Painted in 1877, it exemplifies Paris\u2019s transition from an ancient city to a modern metropolis. Created using a mix of Impressionist and classical techniques, it represents a transition in the art world too.\rArtist Gustave Caillebotte trained at Paris\u2019s \u00C9cole des Beaux-Arts in 1873. He did not stay long. He was much more interested in the Impressionists, a group of French artists pioneering a new style. They pushed back against the traditional mythological and religious subjects of the \u00C9cole. They wanted to show regular people in ordinary situations.\rParis Street; Rainy Day does just that. The painting is set at a six-point intersection in Paris now called the Place de Dublin. This area is near where Caillebotte lived. He had witnessed Georges-Eug\u00E8ne, Baron Haussmann\u2019s decades-long remodeling of the city. Haussmann transformed the narrow medieval streets into wide boulevards. The scaffolding in the painting\u2019s background speaks to the area\u2019s transformation. \rMiddle-class Parisians hurry about with their umbrellas. The focal point of the work is the couple in the bottom right[1][2][3], dressed in the latest fashions. They are almost life- size, making the viewer feel like a fellow pedestrian.\rCaillebotte\u2019s cropping of the picture with the frame suggests he was influenced by photography. This moment on the Paris streets appears frozen in time.\rWhile the subject matter and colors are definitively Impressionist, the technique speaks more to Caillebotte\u2019s training at the \u00C9cole. The brushstrokes are thin and precise. Typical Impressionist paintings used thicker, heavier strokes. Caillebotte also uses a complicated linear perspective to organize the scene.\rThis mix of styles would leave Caillebotte somewhat stretched between two worlds. He continued organizing and eventually financing Impressionist exhibitions. But he has been described as \u201Can Impressionist in name only.\u201D\rAfter his death, Caillebotte gave his collection of Impressionist artworks to the French state. Many of his own paintings, however, remained in his family. In 1964 the Art Institute of Chicago acquired Paris Street; Rainy Day. It has since become a visitor favorite.", "width" : 1920, "height" : 1080, "url": "https://www.britannica.com/video/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day-Gustave-Caillebotte-1877/-290755" } </script></head> <body data-leg="B" class="standalone-video-page user-ANONYMOUS user-ads md-desktop leg-bb-ie">  <script>Mendel.config.adProvider='ay';</script> <script async src="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js"></script> <script> window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot('/15510053/CMP_1x1', [1, 1], 'div-gpt-ad-1709766812090-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.enableServices(); }); </script> <script async defer src="https://launchpad-wrapper.privacymanager.io/0ccc6fe8-1870-4ad8-b47b-6d029ac116fc/launchpad-liveramp.js"></script> <script async src="https://JRyhoywLYXNLYMAhs.ay.delivery/manager/JRyhoywLYXNLYMAhs" type="text/javascript" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" ></script><div class="ie-warning d-flex align-items-center align-self-center justify-content-center site-alert bg-orange"> <div> You are using an <strong>outdated</strong> browser. 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position-relative top-0"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/60/250260-138-09F49202/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day-Gustave-Caillebotte-1877.jpg" alt="Paris Street; Rainy Day and a vision of the modern city" class="rounded super-video-thumbnail" /> <div class="btn btn-xl border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 4px; top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </div> <div class="vpwpl-video-title mt-10 font-weight-bold mb-10"> <em>Paris Street; Rainy Day</em> and a vision of the modern city </div> <div class="vpwpl-video-caption mt-15 d-none d-md-block mb-10"> Painted in 1877, Gustave Caillebotte's <em>Paris Street; Rainy Day</em> exemplifies Paris's transition from an ancient city to a modern metropolis. </div> <div class="vpwpl-credit mb-20 font-13 text-gray-600 font-italic "> Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. </div> </div> <ul class=" col-100 vpwpl-playlist-below vpwpl-playlist mt-15 mt-md-0"> <li class="vpwpl-video-item-1 vpwpl-video-item video-playing" data-assemblyid="290755"> <script type="application/json">{"image":"https://cdn.britannica.com/60/250260-138-09F49202/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day-Gustave-Caillebotte-1877.jpg","sources":[{"file":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/MZGUibb3.m3u8"}],"assetId":250260,"adfile":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/f21gLhye.m3u8","title":"<em>Paris Street; Rainy Day<\/em> and a vision of the modern city","tracks":[{"file":"//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/Z7DTvFo5.vtt","label":"English"}],"transcriptUrl":"/video/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day-Gustave-Caillebotte-1877/-290755#transcript"}</script> <script data-id="video-credit" type="text/plain">Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</script> <script data-id="video-caption" type="text/plain">Painted in 1877, Gustave Caillebotte's <em>Paris Street; Rainy Day</em> exemplifies Paris's transition from an ancient city to a modern metropolis.</script> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day-Gustave-Caillebotte-1877/-290755" ><em>Paris Street; Rainy Day</em> and a vision of the modern city</a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day-Gustave-Caillebotte-1877/-290755"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/60/250260-138-09F49202/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day-Gustave-Caillebotte-1877.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Paris Street; Rainy Day and a vision of the modern city" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 3px; top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="vpwpl-video-item-2 vpwpl-video-item " data-assemblyid="292698"> <script type="application/json">{"image":"https://cdn.britannica.com/76/250576-138-18E4158F/woman-at-her-toilette-bertha-morisot-impressionism.jpg","sources":[{"file":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/4S6sWC89.m3u8"}],"assetId":250576,"adfile":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/62oTt7Tf.m3u8","title":"Get to know the <em>Woman at Her Toilette<\/em>","tracks":[{"file":"//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/khXr4Ynw.vtt","label":"English"}],"transcriptUrl":"/video/woman-at-her-toilette-bertha-morisot-impressionism/-292698#transcript"}</script> <script data-id="video-credit" type="text/plain">Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</script> <script data-id="video-caption" type="text/plain">Like much of 19th-century France, the art world was a man's world. But as new styles emerged, women such as Berthe Morisot stepped into the scene.</script> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/woman-at-her-toilette-bertha-morisot-impressionism/-292698" >Get to know the <em>Woman at Her Toilette</em></a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/woman-at-her-toilette-bertha-morisot-impressionism/-292698"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/76/250576-138-18E4158F/woman-at-her-toilette-bertha-morisot-impressionism.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Get to know the Woman at Her Toilette" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 3px; top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="vpwpl-video-item-3 vpwpl-video-item " data-assemblyid="191948"> <script type="application/json">{"image":"https://cdn.britannica.com/43/179943-138-B78E197B/Overview-Elysee-Palace-Paris.jpg","sources":[{"file":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/lBQdXrmg.m3u8"}],"assetId":179943,"adfile":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/sjbUWVpR.m3u8","title":"History of Élysée Palace in France","tracks":[{"file":"//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/ZVJZdENi","label":"English"}],"transcriptUrl":"/video/Overview-Elysee-Palace-Paris/-191948#transcript"}</script> <script data-id="video-credit" type="text/plain">Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz</script> <script data-id="video-caption" type="text/plain">Overview of the Élysée Palace, Paris.</script> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/Overview-Elysee-Palace-Paris/-191948" >History of Élysée Palace in France</a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/Overview-Elysee-Palace-Paris/-191948"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/179943-138-B78E197B/Overview-Elysee-Palace-Paris.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="History of Élysée Palace in France" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 3px; top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="vpwpl-video-item-4 vpwpl-video-item " data-assemblyid="68351"> <script type="application/json">{"image":"https://cdn.britannica.com/74/72774-138-22122F77/video-production-overview-city-Paris-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-1994.jpg","sources":[{"file":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/WT5OD7zi.m3u8"}],"assetId":72774,"adfile":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/tNRJ06xG.m3u8","title":"Tour the city of Paris and explore the Eiffel Tower, the Sacre-Coeur cathedral, and the Louvre","tracks":[{"file":"//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/Fz4uHlyp","label":"English"}],"transcriptUrl":"/video/video-production-overview-city-Paris-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-1994/-68351#transcript"}</script> <script data-id="video-credit" type="text/plain">Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</script> <script data-id="video-caption" type="text/plain">This video gives an overview of the city of Paris in the late 20th century. It is a 1994 production of Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.</script> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/video-production-overview-city-Paris-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-1994/-68351" >Tour the city of Paris and explore the Eiffel Tower, the Sacre-Coeur cathedral, and the Louvre</a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/video-production-overview-city-Paris-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-1994/-68351"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/74/72774-138-22122F77/video-production-overview-city-Paris-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-1994.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="Tour the city of Paris and explore the Eiffel Tower, the Sacre-Coeur cathedral, and the Louvre" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 3px; 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top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </a> </div> </div> </li> <li class="vpwpl-video-item-6 vpwpl-video-item " data-assemblyid="300958"> <script type="application/json">{"image":"https://cdn.britannica.com/19/253819-138-3F71DDF6/impressionist-art-movement-explained.jpg","sources":[{"file":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/ChWkJcwc.m3u8"}],"assetId":253819,"adfile":"//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/eOZQg98O.m3u8","title":"What is Impressionism?","tracks":[{"file":"//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/TzY5vkAe.vtt","label":"English"}],"transcriptUrl":"/video/impressionist-art-movement-explained/-300958#transcript"}</script> <script data-id="video-credit" type="text/plain">Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</script> <script data-id="video-caption" type="text/plain">Impressionism is a style of art that showcases natural light, movement, and moments.</script> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal " > <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/impressionist-art-movement-explained/-300958" >What is Impressionism?</a> </div> <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="https://www.britannica.com/video/impressionist-art-movement-explained/-300958"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/19/253819-138-3F71DDF6/impressionist-art-movement-explained.jpg?w=100&h=75&c=crop" alt="What is Impressionism?" width="100" height="75" /> <div class="btn btn-sm border border-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="border-width: 3px; 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top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%,-50%)"> <em class="material-icons text-white" data-icon="play_arrow"></em> </div> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="related-topics mt-20 font-14 text-muted"> <strong>Related Articles:</strong> <span id="related-articles"> <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ecole-des-Beaux-Arts">École des Beaux-Arts</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustave-Caillebotte">Gustave Caillebotte</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georges-Eugene-Baron-Haussmann">Georges-Eugène, Baron Haussmann</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Impressionism-art">Impressionism</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Paris">Paris</a> , <a class="" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Paris-Street-Rainy-Day">Paris Street; Rainy Day</a> </span> </div> <hr class="my-30 col-100"> <h2 class="font-16 text-uppercase my-30">Transcript</h2> <div id ="transcript" class="lh-lg font-serif"> Paris Street; Rainy Day represents a turning point between old and new. Painted in 1877, it exemplifies Paris’s transition from an ancient city to a modern metropolis. Created using a mix of Impressionist and classical techniques, it represents a transition in the art world too. Artist Gustave Caillebotte trained at Paris’s École des Beaux-Arts in 1873. He did not stay long. He was much more interested in the Impressionists, a group of French artists pioneering a new style. They pushed back against the traditional mythological and religious subjects of the École. They wanted to show regular people in ordinary situations. Paris Street; Rainy Day does just that. The painting is set at a six-point intersection in Paris now called the Place de Dublin. This area is near where Caillebotte lived. He had witnessed Georges-Eugène, Baron Haussmann’s decades-long remodeling of the city. Haussmann transformed the narrow medieval streets into wide boulevards. The scaffolding in the painting’s background speaks to the area’s transformation. Middle-class Parisians hurry about with their umbrellas. The focal point of the work is the couple in the bottom right[1][2][3], dressed in the latest fashions. They are almost life- size, making the viewer feel like a fellow pedestrian. Caillebotte’s cropping of the picture with the frame suggests he was influenced by photography. This moment on the Paris streets appears frozen in time. While the subject matter and colors are definitively Impressionist, the technique speaks more to Caillebotte’s training at the École. The brushstrokes are thin and precise. Typical Impressionist paintings used thicker, heavier strokes. Caillebotte also uses a complicated linear perspective to organize the scene. This mix of styles would leave Caillebotte somewhat stretched between two worlds. He continued organizing and eventually financing Impressionist exhibitions. But he has been described as “an Impressionist in name only.” After his death, Caillebotte gave his collection of Impressionist artworks to the French state. Many of his own paintings, however, remained in his family. In 1964 the Art Institute of Chicago acquired Paris Street; Rainy Day. 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Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day, Explained | Britannica