Gustave Caillebotte's must-see exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay: Painting men

With the exhibition Gustave Caillebotte. Peindre les hommes, the Musée d'Orsay is preparing to reveal the artist's fascination with male figures and portraits. This exhibition, in collaboration with the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and theArt Institute of Chicago, promises to unveil some 70 works, including Caillebotte's most important figure paintings, as well as pastels, drawings, photographs and archival documents.

The exhibition, which runs from October 8, 2024 to January 19, 2025, coincides with the 130th anniversary of Caillebotte's death and the bequest of his collection of Impressionist paintings to the French State. This is a unique opportunity to rediscover the artist through the prism of nineteenth-century masculinity. In his realistic approach, Caillebotte captured the men in his immediate environment, from urban workers to sailors, as well as scenes of everyday life such as men on balconies or naked men at the toilet.

This project was inspired by the recent acquisition of two major works by Caillebotte by the J. Paul Getty Museum ("Jeune homme à sa fenêtre") and the Musée d'Orsay ("Partie de bateau"), as well as the loan of " Rue de Paris, temps de pluie " by theArt Institute of Chicago. These acquisitions revisit themes dear to the artist's heart, and underline the radical modernity of his works.

Caillebotte is often seen as a keen observer of the social and urban transformations of his time. His paintings question the social and sexual order of an era marked by triumphant virility and republican fraternity. Beyond his identity as a young, wealthy Parisian bachelor, he offers a profound reflection on the male condition, integrating new figures such as the urban worker and the sportsman into his paintings.

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In addition to this exhibition, the Musée d'Orsay will temporarily hang all the works from the Caillebotte bequest in one of the rooms on the permanent tour. This display will allow visitors to relive the opening of the "Caillebotte Room" at the Musée du Luxembourg in 1897, offering a complete vision of the artist's contribution to Impressionismand Modernism.

The Musée d'Orsay attracted nearly 320,000 visitors with " Paris 1874 Inventing Impressionism ". With " Gustave Caillebotte. Peindre les hommes " (Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men ), the emblematic Parisian museum aims to repeat this success, offering a fascinating plunge into the work of an artist who continues to inspire and question our perception of masculinity.

If you'd like to visit the exhibition, be sure to book online as soon as the ticket office opens. The museum is closed on Mondays. It's open from 9.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday, with a nocturne on Thursday until 9.45 p.m. for a quieter visit. Admission costs €16 full price and €13 time-stamped reduced price. Night-time admission is €12. Also worth knowing: free admission for under-18s and EU residents under 26.