Entertainment
A new look at French Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte
Monet … Degas … Renoir. When we think of French Impressionism, it’s the usual suspects who spring to mind. But one lesser-known artist is ripe for rediscovery.
“Gustave Caillebotte is probably the least-known of the Impressionist painters,” said Gloria Groom, co-curator of a new exhibition of the works of Caillebotte, now on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. “I think he’s still not completely integrated into that story. He’s still kind of the outsider.”
The museum has long been home to the artist’s most recognizable painting, “Paris Street – Rainy Day.”
The Art Institute of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F. Worcester Collection
“People, they may not know Gustave Caillebotte’s name, but if you say the painting with the umbrellas, they all know it,” said Groom. “And so you start thinking, okay, it’s all about this bourgeois couple walking down the street. But it’s not, because there’s a painter with a ladder, the charwoman who’s opening her umbrella, all these different types of people.”
“Paris Street – Rainy Day” played a supporting role in the beloved movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. While it was out on loan, museum-goers were bereft. “We got letters,” said Groom. “But you can’t be part of an exhibition to be a partner if you don’t lend the major work for the exhibition. So, we made that sacrifice. And now we’re celebrating its return.”
Louvre Abu Dhabi
The exhibition looks at Caillebotte’s work from a new perspective. While his peers were painting ballerinas and landscapes, Caillebotte’s canvases focused on men to a degree unusual for the time.
Groom said, “He’s looking at the men in his life, he’s looking at the relationships. But he’s not just doing, you know, macho masculinity. He’s doing men in interiors, men on sofas, men looking out a window, kind of turning the tables in many ways.”
Some of the paintings scandalized the French art establishment. “The Floor Scrapers” was rejected from a prestigious art exhibition.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
And, at another exhibition, a painting featuring a nude man was relegated to a small, inaccessible room. “It’s a male nude, but not an Adonis,” said Groom. “It’s shocking even today. It’s a beautiful, beautiful painting, and it’s sensuous. Let’s face it, it’s sensuous!”
When this exhibition opened in Paris last year with the title “Painting Men,” some critics condemned what they considered the show’s insinuation of Caillebotte’s homosexuality. The artist never married, but shared the last decade or so of his life with a female companion.
But the show moved on to Chicago with a new title – “Painting His World” – which has others saying the changed title minimizes the artist’s focus on the same sex.
Gloria Groom says, quite simply, the paintings speak for themselves: “The paintings are the paintings, and that’s what we’re interested in. We try to open it up to all kinds of interpretations, and people will see what they want to see.”
Gustave Caillebotte died in 1894. He was just 45. All these decades later, people are still seeing what they want to in his beguiling artistry.
For more info:
- Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World, at the Art Institute of Chicago (through Oct. 5)
- Exhibition catalogue: “Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men,” edited by Scott Allan, Gloria Groom and Paul Perrin (J. Paul Getty Museum), in Hardcover, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- Gustave Caillebotte. “Paris Street; Rainy Day,” 1877. The Art Institute of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F. Worcester Collection
- Gustave Caillebotte. “Floor Scrapers,” 1875. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Gift of the Caillebotte heirs through Auguste Renoir, 1894. Photo courtesy of Musée d’Orsay, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn/Franck Raux
- Gustave Caillebotte. “Man at His Bath,” 1884. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum purchase with funds by exchange from an Anonymous gift, Bequest of William A. Coolige, Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection, and from the Charles H. Bayley Picture and Painting Fund, Mary S. and Edward J. Holmes Fund, Fanny P. Mason Fund in memory of Alice Thevin, Arthur Gordon Tompkins Fund, Gift of Mrs. Samuel Parkman Oliver – Eliza R. Oliver Fund, Sophie F. Friedman Fund, Robert M. Rosenberg Family Fund, and funds donated in honor of George T.M. Shackelford, Chair, Art of Europe, and Arthur K. Solomon Curator of Modern Art 1996–2011. Photo © 2025 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Footage courtesy of Musée d’Orsay Digital Department/YouBLive
Story produced by Robert Marston. Editor: Steven Tyler.
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Emily Blunt celebrates as ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ dominates box office
Emily Blunt has been seen all smiles as she stepped out to celebrate the strong success of the new Devil Wears Prada sequel, which is already making big money at the box office.
The film brings back major stars like Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci and it has clearly connected with audiences very well.
Reports say it that has already earned around 233 million dollars worldwide in its opening days, with strong numbers from both US and other countries.
Emily, who plays Emily Charlton in the film, was seen out in New York with her husband John Krasinski on Sunday night.
The couple attended an awards event and looked very happy as they celebrated the film’s success.
Emily wore a clean white outfit with simple jewellery and heels, while John also looked sharp in a white suit.
They both, however, seemed relaxed and in a good mood as cameras caught them at the event.
Devil Wears Prada 2, released on May 1, has even done better than the original film’s opening.
It also saw a large female audience turnout as the story continue the old characters but also shows new changes in the media world.
Critics have mostly praised it for its style, fashion, and nostalgic feel.
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Lizzo opens up about new music amid yearslong legal battle: “The truth will come out”
Lizzo is opening up about her new music amid a yearslong legal battle and why she indefinitely placed a project on hold last year.
Her highly anticipated album is set to be released on June 5 and the singer hopes it empowers women with the use of a single word.
“The album is called ‘Bitch,'” Lizzo said. “After the song … I always have a title track.”
The album’s title track samples Meredith Brooks’ feminist anthem of the same name as well as Missy Elliott’s song, “She’s a Bitch.”
“I feel like what both of those women did was they pushed that word forward in a way that empowered it, instead of taking the power away. Like that’s a word that used to get hurled at women,” Lizzo told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King in an exclusive interview. “It’s my favorite word.”
“The truth will come out”
The Grammy winner’s new music comes amid her legal trouble.
In 2023, three of her former backup dancers filed a lawsuit against the singer, alleging a hostile work environment and sexual harassment during her world tour. One dancer also claimed she was shamed for her weight.
The weight shaming allegation was ultimately dismissed.
But some of the sexual harassment claims still remain, including the dancers’ allegation that Lizzo pressured them to engage with nude performers at a burlesque club in Amsterdam.
Lizzo is appealing that ruling and said she will not settle.
“I’m fighting the case because I know that it’s not true,” she said. “Just like the fat shaming one is not true.”
If the case goes to trial, Lizzo said she’s ready to testify, saying, “the truth will come out, and that’s why I’m not afraid of it.”
“The truth is less salacious than the headlines,” she added.
Lizzo said because it is an ongoing case, she can’t talk about the details, but added she “cannot wait for it to be dismissed.”
Last year, the singer was set to release another studio album, “Love in Real Life.” Two of the singles didn’t reach the Billboard charts and later the project was put on hold indefinitely, which Lizzo said was her decision.
“I didn’t delay anything,” she said. “I think that I have been working on an album and I put a lot of pressure on me for a long time, and I think what I learned last year was like, I’m here to make music. I’m here to give music to my fans.”
Weight loss journey
Lizzo has also made headlines for her weight loss journey.
“I released the anxiety I was going through. I released depression and I also released some weight on my body.”
She said she’s “not a skinny person” and is not trying to be.
“I mean if I came out today as a brand new artist with this body, I would still get the same criticisms I got back in 2019.”
Responding to rumors that she used weight loss medications, Lizzo explained her weight loss journey was done “with a calorie deficit, cardio and protein.”
But she admitted she tried a GLP-1 drug years ago, and said it didn’t work for her.
“I’m scared of needles and it just did not work out for me,” she explained. “So when I decided to do the weight release journey in 2023, which was years after, I was like, ‘I’m gonna have to do it the old fashioned way.'”
Focusing on music
As for the future, the four-time Grammy winner said she’s looking forward to touring again soon.
“I know the music is good and I know my heart is good,” she said. “So if I know that, I have nothing to worry about. People are gonna say what they wanna say. They’re gonna think what they are going to think.”
She said believing in her heart and craft she hopes to “inspire other people to do it too.”
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