Artist | Gustave Caillebotte |
---|---|
Year | 1876–1877 |
Type | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 212.2 cm × 276 cm (83.5 in × 108.7 in) |
Location | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago |
Paris Street; Rainy Day (also known as Paris: A Rainy Day) is a large 1877 oil painting by the French artist Gustave Caillebotte. The piece depicts the Place de Dublin, an intersection near the Gare Saint-Lazare, a railroad station in north Paris. One of Caillebotte's best known works, it debuted at the Third Impressionist Exhibition of 1877 and is currently owned by the Art Institute of Chicago.[1] Art Institute curator Gloria Groom described the piece as "the great picture of urban life in the late 19th century."[2]
Caillebotte's interest in photography is evident in the painting. The figures in the foreground appear slightly "out of focus", those in the mid-distance (the carriage and the pedestrians in the middle of the intersection) have sharp edges, and then the background becomes progressively indistinct.
An essay-length interpretation of this painting from Brian A. Oard's book Beauty and Terror can be read at http://sites.google.com/site/beautyandterror/Home/bourgeoisie-and-proletariat