Just before closing day, we manage to find a visiting slot for the « Caillebotte, peindre les hommes » exhibit at Musée d’Orsay. Which contained a large selection of paintings by Gustave Caillebotte, including several versions or preparations of his most famous pieces. Like the (dust free) wood floor planers
or the (luminous) rainy scene of Paris
or yet the Bridge of Europe on top of Gare Saint-Lazare
While the place was crowded, it was sill feasible to enjoy the paintings and see the evolution of Caillebotte’s style. And to discover pieces I had never seen, like this amazing study in reflection and light
A few pieces, in contrast seemed to be deficient in their proportions, as the definitely bizarre reclining Père Magloire. I also found the thesis pushed by the curators of the exhibit of a definite focus of the artist on men, as indicated by its title, overdone while rather thin in supporting facts, especially when considering his living till his early death with his common law wife Charlotte Berthier, much to the horror of his bourgeois family. (A parti-pris quite strongly denounced by Le Monde.)