become a member

Gustave Caillebotte.
Painter and patron of the Impressionists May 17, 2019 - September 15, 2019
Alte Nationalgalerie

Duration May 17, 2019 - September 15, 2019

Location: Old National Gallery

With the painting “Street in Paris, Rainy Weather” by Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894), an icon of Impressionism moves into the Alte Nationalgalerie. Caillebotte's painting is considered the painter's major work and is one of the flagship works of the Art Institute of Chicago. Due to its imposing size, it has rarely traveled to Europe in the past and, after extensive restoration in 2013, not at all.

The pioneering work with its almost life-size figures and unconventional perspective was presented at the third Impressionist exhibition in 1877 and has lost none of its great suggestive appeal to this day. Caillebotte's independent interpretation of impressionism impresses with its striking immediacy and bold image detail.

The focused exhibition also deals with the patronage of Caillebotte, who, as a collector and sponsor, helped finance and organize the first exhibitions of the Impressionists. In particular, Caillebotte's efforts to establish Impressionism in public collections also show parallels to Hugo von Tschudi, who achieved precisely this through his acquisition policy for the Alte Nationalgalerie.