Caillebotte, Gustave

(born Aug. 19, 1848, Paris, Fr.—died Feb. 21, 1894, Gennevilliers) French painter and art collector. Born to a wealthy family, he was a naval architect by profession. He pursued his interest in painting at the École des Beaux-Arts and became a prolific painter of contemporary subjects, town and country views, still lifes, and boating scenes. In Caillebotte's masterpiece, Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877), he used bold perspective to create a monumental portrait of a Paris intersection. In addition to his own painting, Caillebotte was the chief organizer, promoter, and financial backer of the Impressionist exhibitions, and he purchased works by , Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Paul C, and others. He bequeathed his collection to the state, and in 1897 it formed the basis of the first Impressionist exhibition in a French museum. See Impressionism.

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