Paysage à Argenteuil

Gustave Caillebotte was unusual among the Impressionists: independently wealthy, he both collected extensively — his bequest formed the core of the Musee d'Orsay's Impressionist collection — and painted with professional ambition. This 1889 canvas of the Seine valley countryside at Argenteuil shows him in a more relaxed, lyrical mode than his celebrated urban subjects. The landscape around Argenteuil, shared with Monet in the early 1870s and still a favourite in the late 1880s, provided Caillebotte with a familiar countryside close to Paris. By 1889 he had largely withdrawn from public exhibiting and was painting primarily for his own satisfaction.

Caillebotte uses a loose Impressionist touch for this Argenteuil landscape, less regimented than his architectural urban subjects. The palette is warm with rich greens, ochres, and the blue of the Seine or sky. Brushwork is fluid and responsive to natural textures. The composition is relatively open and unpretentious compared to his major earlier works.