Gustave Caillebotte

Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894), a wealthy painter, was both an Impressionist and their patron, buying his friends' works. He bequeathed his collection to the French state; it is now a core of the Musée d'Orsay.

From the page of Young Man at His Window

Caillebotte’s secure financial situation — he inherited his family’s textile business — allowed him to finance various passions besides painting during his short life. These hobbies were extremely far removed from painting. Caillebotte was a keen stamp collector, and his collection is held by the British Museum. He also grew orchids and designed fabric patterns. His greatest passion, however, was building yachts and racing boats. Obsessed with speed, he took great pleasure in this activity, always looking for new ways to perfect his vessels.

From the page of Paris Street; Rainy Day

Gustave Caillebotte served in the army during the Franco-Prussian War and then studied in Léon Bonnat’s studio until 1876. At that time the Salon rejected his unconventional painting The Floor Scrapers, but he made friends with Renoir and Monet, and bought the latter’s Corner of an Apartment (1875) for his rapidly growing Impressionist collection. Thanks to his father’s successful textile business and property investments, Caillebotte never lacked money. From 1882, when he moved with his brother to a new home at Petit-Gennevilliers near Argenteuil, he largely gave up painting and devoted his freed-up time to his garden and to his greenhouse crammed with exotic plants. Monet, who was laying out his garden at Giverny at the same time, remained a close friend and enthusiastic adviser in later years too.

From the page of Snow-Covered Rooftops