Pronounce the artist’s name: Kie – bot’
Caillebotte provides a glimpse of his own family, depicting his brother Martial and cousin Zoë in the family’s garden in the town of Yerres, France. Martial, his back turned to us, is engrossed in reading his book, while Zoë leans over a large white planter and reads a letter, and the dog sleeps in the sun. Even though their faces are hidden, their gestures and attitudes convey the leisurely relaxation of a summer afternoon. The orange trees in planters and the carefully tended beds with red and white flowers are a reminder that Caillebotte himself was an avid gardener. The hot weather is indicated by the blurred details that suggest a bright, glaring light.
The Orange Trees is a masterpiece of Impressionist painting. Caillebotte has contrasted the cool shadows in the foreground with the dazzling bright colors in the distance. Impressionists, like Caillebotte, were not interested in creating photographically realistic paintings, but rather in using dabs of paint to capture reflected light. The flower bed is painted with quick strokes of thick red, white, and green paint with little attention to details of petals or leaves. The bright light makes it impossible to see those details and also blurs outlines and edges. Under the trees, the cool purple and blue are enlivened with touches of blue, cream, and yellow. Although a work of this size and complexity took a long time to complete, the effect is of a casual scene captured quickly.
Born into a wealthy family, Gustave Caillebotte inherited a fortune in 1873, which allowed him to pursue art without worrying about money. He became friends with Degas, Monet, and Renoir, and joined the Impressionist group. He participated in and organized exhibitions of the Impressionists. Caillebotte also purchased Impressionist paintings, both at public sales and directly from artists, and provided loans to his friends. He is as important a patron of art as he is a painter. He bequeathed his outstanding collection of sixty-five pictures to France on the condition that they be displayed first in the Parisian museum devoted to living artists, then in the Louvre Museum.
Curators are always researching the museum’s collection. In the process, titles of works of art can change. This work used to be called The Artist’s Brother in His Garden and is now titled The Orange Trees.
