Description de "Paris Street-Rainy day" par Gustave Caillebotte en anglais

Introduction

The painting Paris Street – Rainy Day has been painted in 1877 by Gustave Caillebotte. This picture is kept to the Art institutes in Chicago, in USA. The museum was opened in 1879, and it is now the 2nd biggest and oldest museum of the United States behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New-York! The Art Institutes is composed of many is housed in different buildings, where a huge variety of works are exposed, such as sculptures, painting, statues etc.. which is equal to 300 000 works. The painting of Gustave Caillebotte is a part of it. It’s a french painter of the 2nd half of the 19th century. Paris Street – Rainy Day is an oil paint, 212×276 (human size).

This picture is really realistic and belong, like his author, to the impressionnist movement.

Work presentation:

This painting was realised during the second french empire, regime of Napoleon the 3rd who decided to start a renovation with the general Haussmann' help. Critized by a lot of people because of the high cost of the task, they had to demolished the olds buildings for rebuilding new ones with a new rule on it. The buildings had to be aligned, following the same measures for each floor. And the reorganisation of the ground, aligned cobble-stoned streets. This renovation stand out Paris from the other main cities in the world. Indeed, when most of the big cities in Europe has still middle Ages landscape, France, especially Paris show a modern and powerful side. This renovation gives also a tidy side to this new Paris, and is also caracterized by the construction of long boulevard and big squares. Gustave Caillebotte seemed to be fascinated by this renovation and paid hommage by painting Paris Street – Rainy Day.

We have a horizontal link which is extended in the base of the buildings and up to the passer by heads. The painting has a human size and give an effect of real. Actually, we are in the shoes of passer-by, looking that picture with his eyes.  That’s why when you are in front of that painting, it seems like if you were walking in Paris.

This painting is thought very well: the city’s disposition and the new Hausmann’s rules are obviously the mains subjects, slabs are exactly well positioned. The cleanliness and the organisation are really important: everything is at his place.

We can see a scaffold, which symbolize the rebirth of Paris. There is a transition between the old and the new city: the middle age style is finished, time for the modernity.

About the modernity, there is a couple of things linked to the progress. The public lighting system with the lamppost (it was gaz lamp) which was totally uncommon at this time. There is also a pharmacy, which refers to the economy of Paris and also symbolizes the medicine advancement.

Horse-drawn carriage shows the economic wealth of Paris at this time.