Gustave Caillebotte

Gustave Caillebotte (19 August 1848 – 21 February 1894) was a French painter, member and patron of the group of artists known as Impressionists, though he painted in a much more realistic manner than many other artists in the group. Caillebotte was noted for his early interest in photography as an art form.

At the moment the exhibition "Gustave Caillebotte. An Impressionist and Photography" is on display at Frankfurts renowned art gallery Schirn.
I didn´t know about Caillebotte at all before I arrived, only knew a couple of his (beautiful) paintings.

What an eye-opener it was! The exhibition contains maybe 50% of his paintings but 50% are old photographs, showing mostly Paris. I tell you, an absolutely stunning experience for someone like me that constantly thinks she is living in the wrong century...those old pictures, if only you could climb into them.
How was life for the people shown? What did the apartments look like from the inside? What sounds where audible at the moment the photo was taken (in early days that would have been a very long "moment"), what did the air smell of?
Got me dreaming...and of course perfect for someone into photography. Some gems are on show as well e.g. some stereoscopies of Paris or a "Secret-Camera" useful for spies in 1886. Amazing.

A truly interesting exhibition if you are into impressionist painting but even more so if you love Paris and the history of photography.

It is still on until 20.02.2013.