Gustave Caillebottes Paris Street; Rainy Day Essay -- Paris sous la P

Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day The first thing that strikes me is the size of the work. About seven feet tall and nine feet wide, this painting dominates its gallery and overwhelms the viewer. The couple in the foreground of the painting is nearly life size, and with the man poised to take another step it seems he might climb right over the frame and walk right into the gallery. The bold perspective thrusts the scene outward, and with details such as the sharply receding roofline of the main building and the acute tilt of the street, geometric and visual effects are created which push and pull the viewer and instill the painting with action. This work is more complex and detailed then one might first imagine, and with such a rich surface and vast array of minutiae it truly requires an "in person" viewing for full comprehension. Painted in 1877 by the wealthy painter/impressionist connoisseur Gustave Caillebotte, Paris, A Rainy Day is a depiction of a familiar five-way intersection in a wealthy area of Paris near the artist's home on a rainy and overcast day. A host of characters are dispersed throughout the canvas, strolling about and engaging in usual daily activities. The expansive street and uniform architecture, common in Paris after Haussmann's renovations, are accentuated, and in many ways the work is a verisitic snapshot of modern everyday life. In the foreground a well to do couple with interlocked arms and a shared umbrella walks towards the viewer. By noting the angle of reflections from the lamppost and other figures it seems as if the painter is taking his view from directly in front of these persons, and being the most prominent figures they certainly warrant a more detailed discussion. The man gazes to his right. His eyes are a soft grayish hue and he walks assertively. The gaze on his face is difficult to read; perhaps he is longing or being contemplative, in any event he seems detached. It seems reasonable to label him the protagonist. The woman tilts her head as well, and is most likely observing the same object or event as her companion. Observed close up she appears to have an emergent smile on her comely face. The dots on her veil, a dazzlingly white earring (likely a diamond) and an azure blue tuft of cloth noticeable at her neckline are particularly striking, and provide vibrancy... ...e men from the title of flaneur. In the expression on their faces it almost seems as if there is some yearning for prior times. Because this painting is a modern cityscape it is ipso facto a painting of modernity (one thinks of Baudelair) and a record of the fashions of 1877. By recording the actual events of his own time, Caillebotte was part of a somewhat radical new type of painting. His figures are shown accurately in contemporary dress, and he has essentially taken a mundane and fleeting moment and captured it eternally on a monumental scale. Celebrating modernity, while simultaneously casting a critical eye, is one of the signature hallmarks of impressionism and inchoate modern art. Paris, A Rainy Day is a complex work of both technical virtuosity and implied thematic elements which synthesize to engross the viewer visually and entice them mentally to think about urban life and feelings of alienation. The painting conflates multiple issues which surround and form the foundation of the art historical study of the Impressionists' Paris, and remains in its grandeur as a historical visual document, a commentary on urban life, and a testament to modernity.