The J. Paul Getty Museum is presenting the first major exhibition of Gustave Caillebotte in the United States. Caillebotte was a French Impressionist whose work offers a unique perspective on masculinity, modernity, and the male experience in 19th-century France.
The exhibition titled Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men brings together approximately 100 paintings and drawings, marking the largest showcase of Caillebotte’s work on the West Coast in three decades. Running from February 25 to May 25, 2025, at the Getty Center, the exhibition is a collaboration between the Getty Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
Caillebotte (1848–1894) was no ordinary artist. Born into wealth, he was a fiercely independent figure who approached painting with the same intensity and curiosity that he applied to his other passions, including yachting and horticulture. Unlike his contemporaries—such as Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas, who often focused on female subjects—Caillebotte turned his gaze toward men. His works depict a wide range of male figures, from family members and close friends to labourers, sportsmen, and soldiers, offering a nuanced exploration of masculinity during rapid social change.
“Caillebotte’s paintings are exceptional for their immersive compositions and energetic execution,” says Timothy Potts, director of the Getty Museum. “They raise fascinating questions about gender norms and masculinity in 19th-century France and continue to spark discussion and debate today. This exhibition highlights his originality while situating him in his biographical, social, and historical context.”
The exhibition is organised thematically, beginning with Caillebotte’s family life, which was the subject of his earliest significant works. Among the highlights is the Getty’s recently acquired Young Man at His Window, a striking portrayal of the artist’s younger brother, René, gazing out from the family’s Paris mansion. This painting, which debuted at the Impressionist exhibition of 1876, exemplifies what critic Edmond Duranty called “The New Painting”—a bold, realist approach that captured modern individuals in their everyday environments.
Caillebotte’s financial independence, thanks to his father’s textile business and real estate investments, allowed him to pursue art free from commercial pressures. Yet, he approached his craft with remarkable discipline and empathy, often identifying with working-class men. His early masterpiece Floor Scrapers, which depicts shirtless labourers refinishing the floors of his studio, is a testament to this connection. It was one of the first works to introduce the urban labourer as a subject in modern French painting.
Caillebotte was deeply inspired by the modernisation of Paris under Baron Haussmann, and his paintings often reflect the city’s new architectural landscape. One of the exhibition’s centrepieces is the Art Institute of Chicago’s Paris Street, Rainy Day, a monumental work that captures a bustling intersection Caillebotte frequented. The painting reveals his fascination with how Parisians, mainly bourgeois men, navigated their transformed urban environment. Complementing these street-level views are innovative balcony scenes, where men are shown surveying the city from above, offering a fresh perspective on urban life.
While Caillebotte’s street scenes are dynamic and expansive, his domestic interiors are intimate and introspective. Works like The Bezique Game—a card-playing scene that doubles as a group portrait—showcase his affluent male companions, including his brother Martial and close friends Richard Gallo and Paul Hugot. These portraits are juxtaposed with unsentimental depictions of bourgeois couples, which suggest a sceptical view of marriage and rigid gender norms. In Interior, Woman Reading, for example, Caillebotte subverts traditional roles: a woman reads a newspaper (a typically male activity). In contrast, her male partner reclines with a novel (a more “feminine” pursuit).
Caillebotte’s concept of masculinity was also shaped by his military service during the Franco-Prussian War and his passion for sports. The exhibition includes rare depictions of soldiers and dynamic scenes of boating, a subject that was novel in painting at the time. Among the standout works is the Musée d’Orsay’s Boating Party, recently acquired and declared a “national treasure” by the French Ministry of Culture. These paintings reflect Caillebotte’s life as a competitive yachtsman and his fascination with physicality and movement.
Caillebotte’s boldness extended to his treatment of the male nude, a rarity in his oeuvre but a powerful statement when it appeared. The large-scale Man at His Bath, which shows a naked man vigorously drying off after a bath, intentionally masculinizes a genre typically dominated by female figures. When exhibited in 1888, the painting shocked viewers and was relegated to a small side room—a testament to its provocative nature.
“Caillebotte was a great innovator, both in his choice of subjects and his powerful presentation of them,” says Scott Allan, curator of paintings at the Getty Museum. “He was unusually curious about the men in his world, showing them in public and private, at work, play, and rest. His work challenges our clichéd understandings of the Impressionist movement.”
Caillebotte never married but spent his final years with Charlotte Berthier, a longtime companion who rarely appeared in his art. He died at 45, leaving his impressive collection of Impressionist paintings to the French State. While his work was largely overlooked during his lifetime, it gained recognition in the second half of the 20th century, cementing his place as a key figure in the Impressionist movement.
Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue co-edited by the exhibition’s curators: Scott Allan of the Getty Museum, Gloria Groom of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Paul Perrin of the Musée d’Orsay. The catalogue features 10 thematic essays by leading scholars, offering more profound insights into Caillebotte’s life and work.
Following its run at the Getty, the exhibition will travel to the Art Institute of Chicago, where it will be on view from June 29 to October 5, 2025.
Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men Feb 25–May 25, 2025, Getty Center Museum Exhibitions Pavilion