Paris Street; Rainy Day

1877

Considered Caillebotte’s masterpiece, this view of a busy intersection captures both an everyday moment and all that was new in a rapidly changing Paris. The clothes are the latest fashion. The retractable umbrella was just invented. And a decades-long renovation had transformed the medieval streets of Paris into grand boulevards, like the ones seen here. It's a painting you want to walk into.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848–1894)

Date

1877

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

212.2 × 276.2 cm (83 1/2 × 108 3/4 in.); Framed: 241.3 × 306.1 × 10.2 cm (95 × 120 1/2 × 4 in.)

Origin

Paris

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection