Gustave Caillebotte Oil Paintings

Gustave Caillebotte was a dedicated student of the arts. He spent his young adulthood mastering the Impressionist style. While he remained a lifelong fan of this style, he went on to develop a more realistic style that would later become known as Neo-Impressionism. This made Caillebotte a stand-out artist of the time, especially since he painted more urban and domestic scenes as opposed to the focus on landscapes and nature often found in more traditional Impressionist works.

His most famous painting, "Paris Street, Rainy Day," is an excellent example of the way Caillebotte refined Impressionist techniques to deliver a more realistic appearance for his subjects. A notable feature in this particular work is the photograph-like effect with figures in the foreground more in focus that those in the background. His use of distinct lines also set him apart from the Impressionist painters.

Caillebotte was well off, and didn't have to sell his work to support himself, so much of his work wasn't recognized in his lifetime. Instead, he used much of his inheritance to support the arts, especially the work of Impressionist artists like Claude Monet. Years after his death, a renewed interest in Caillebotte led him to become a prominent figure in art history.