Gustave Caillebotte

Ambroise Vollard, Paris
Galerie Vaumousse, Paris (by circa 1951)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, December 4, 1980, lot 524A
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

New York, American Art Galleries & National Academy of Design, The Impressionists of Paris, 1886, no. 136

Marie Bérhaut, La Vie et l' oeuvre de Gustave Caillebotte, Paris, 1951, no. 213
Marie Bérhaut, Caillebotte, sa vie et  son oeuvre, Paris, 1978, no. 273, illustrated p. 175
Marie Bérhaut, Gustave Caillebotte, Catalogue raisonné des peintures et pastels, Paris, 1994, no. 268, illustrated p. 174

Excellent condition. The canvas is unlined and clean with a rich surface impasto. Under UV: There is no apparent inpainting. A thick piece of paper was placed behind the stretcher on the back of the canvas but is not affixed at all and could be quite easily removed. Otherwise fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

As one of the iconic Impressionists, Caillebotte is perhaps most famous for the richness and realism of his paintings. His talent for rendering spatial perspective, combined with his use of rich color, resulted in some of the most extraordinary compositions of the Impressionist movement. Although Caillebotte devoted much of his production during the 1870s and 1880s to depicting the architecture and boulevards of Paris, by the 1890s he turned his attention to painting the grounds of his family home at Petit Gennevilliers. The inherent beauty of this landscape resulted in several lush and intimate depictions of his personal surroundings.  The present work is one of the artist's interpretations of the plains of Gennevilliers, which he painted during different seasons. 

 

Fig. 1 Martial Caillebotte, Gustave Caillebotte seated in the garden at Petit Gennevilliers, February 1892, Private Collection