Boating on the Yerres (Périssoires sur l'Yerres)

Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848–1894)
Boating on the Yerres (Périssoires sur l'Yerres), 1877
Oil on canvas
40 3/4 × 61 3/8 in. (103.51 × 155.89 cm) framed: 50 1/2 × 71 × 4 1/2 in. (128.27 × 180.34 × 11.43 cm)
Gift of the Milwaukee Journal Company, in honor of Miss Faye McBeath M1965.25
Photo credit: John R. Glembin
Currently on View
K203

Gustave Caillebotte associated with Monet and Degas as an art student and, beginning in the mid-1870s, became one of the most steadfast, inventive, and supportive adherents of the Impressionist movement, exhibiting regularly with the two artists. Among his most impressive paintings are a series of seven boating scenes painted in 1877 and 1878 at his family estate along the Yerres River. This painting is one of the earliest and largest of his boating scenes. It depicts a group of sleek, one-main skiffs, known as périssoires, gliding through the quietest waters of the Yerres River. Almost two-thirds of the canvas is given over to the water, which is painted in a broad pattern of brightly colored horizontal brushstrokes. The three trees and their reflections help to stabilize the horizontal thrust of the composition to create an intellectually adjusted network of horizontals, verticals, and diagonals. This kind of subtly calculated interplay between surface and depth is characteristic of Caillebotte's finest paintings.

Permanent collection label, 2001. Written by Laurie Winters, Curator of Earlier European Art.


Provenance

[1] 1929, sold through (Hôtel Drouot, Paris, France) to (E. Lamy, Paris, France). [2] (Gerard Freres, Paris, France). [3] ca. 1939, (Melthey, Paris, France). [4] 1965, purchased from (Wildenstein & Co., New York, New York, USA) by Milwaukee Art Center (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA)

[1], [2], [3], [4] MAM catalogue card


Research into the provenance of artworks in the Museum’s collection is ongoing.
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Publication History

Tseng, Shao-Chein. Xian dai shen ti de zai xian: shi jiu shi ji xi fang yi shu zhong de yun dong wen hua = Picturing the modern body : sports culture in nineteenth century Western art. 2022, p. 156, color illus.

Morton, Mary G. and George T. M. Shackelford. Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter's Eye. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2015, pp. 206–207, 278, cat. 46, color illus. p. 217.

Lloyd, Christopher, Phillip Dennis Cate, Daniel Charles, and Gilles Chardeau. Impressionists on the Water. San Francisco, CA: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013, pp. 2–3, pp. 154–55, fig. 128, color illus.

Kelly, Chelsea Emelie. People's Choice: Your Top 25 Works of Art in the Collection. Milwaukee Art Museum: Under the Wings, April 5, 2013. http://blog.mam.org/2013/04/05/peoples-choice-your-top-25-works-of-art-in-the-collection/.

Sagner, Karin, Max Hollein, and Ulrich Pohlmann. Gustave Caillebotte: An Impressionist and Photography. Frankfurt: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, 2012, color illus. p. 216.

Strini, Tom. Now I really want the Packers to beat the Steelers. Urban Milwaukee, January 28, 2011. http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2011/01/now-i-really-want-the-packers-to-beat-the-steelers/ (accessed January 2, 2013).

Strini, Tom. One Piece at a Time: Caillebotte's Boating on the Yerres. Urban Milwaukee, August 5, 2010. http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2010/08/one-piece-at-a-time-caillebottes-boating-on-the-yerres/ (accessed January 2, 2013).

Fowle, Frances, Vivien Hamilton, and Jennifer Melville. Impressionism & Scotland. Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 2008, p. 36, pl. 32.

Christie's. Impressionist and Modern Art, Evening Sale, February 6, 2007 [auction catalogue]. London: Christie’s, 2007.

Willi-Cosandier, Juliane. Caillebotte: Au Coeur de l'Impressionnisme. Lausanne, Switzerland: Fondation de l'Hermitage, 2005, p. 93, color illus. p. 93 and cover.

Milwaukee Art Museum News (February 2005): n.p., color illus.

Andera, Margaret, Nonie Gadsden, Britt Salvesen, and Laurie Winters. Collection Guide: Milwaukee Art Museum. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Art Museum, 2004, pp. 22, 68, cat. 29, color illus. p. 22.

Milwaukee Art Museum News (December 2003): n.p., color illus.

Milwaukee Art Museum News (May/June 2002): 9, b/w detail.

Milwaukee Art Museum. Building a Masterpiece: Milwaukee Art Museum. New York: Hudson Hill Press, 2001, pp. 92–93, color illus.

Johnston, Sona. Faces of Impressionism, Portraits from American Collections.Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art in association with Rizzoli International Publications, 1999, p. 45, cat. 3, color illus.

Siegel, Anne. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Graduate School Newsletter (December 1995): b/w illus. p. 20.

Darragon, Eric. Caillebotte, Connaissance des Arts. Societe Franaise de Promotion Artistique, no. 61, 1994, pp. 7, 43, 45, 82, no. 42, color illus. p. 45.

Distel, Anne. Seurat. Paris: Editions du Chene, 1991, color illus. p. 66, fig. 5.

Wittmer, Pierre. Caillebotte au Jardin: La Periode d'Yerres (1860–1879). Saint-Remy en-l'eau: Editiones d'Art Monelle Hayot, 1990, p. 331, color illus. p. 161.

Herbert, Robert L. Impressionism: Art Leisure and Society. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988, no. 248, color illus. p. 246.

Thomson, Belinda, and Michael Howard. Impressionism. London: Bison Books, 1988, color illus. p. 37.

Varnedoe, Kirk. Gustave Caillebotte. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987, p. 102, no. 22, color illus. p. 103.

Goldstein, Rosalie, ed. Guide to the Permanent Collection. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Art Museum, 1986, p. 89, color illus. p. 89.

Isaacson, Joel and Jean Paul Bouillon. The Crisis of Impressionism, 1878–1882. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1980, pp. 68, 71, cat. 7, illus. p. 70.

Berhart, Marie. Caillebotte, Sa Vie et Son Oeuvre. Paris: La Bibliothe`que des Arts, 1978, no. 76.

Varnedoe, Kirk and Thomas P. Lee. Gustave Caillebotte: A Retrospective Exhibition. Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1976, pp. 124–25, cat. 35, illus. p. 124.

Berhart, Marie. Caillebotte, The Impressionist. Lausanne: International Art Book, 1968, color pl. 12. (mistitled, misdated, misnumbered)

Wildenstein and Company. Gustave Caillebotte. New York: Gustave Caillebotte, 1968, cat. 14.

Key, Donald. Art Center Pictures Hit Road to Change Our Image. Milwaukee Journal, October 8, 1967, p. 77, NewsBank America’s Newspapers, http://infoweb.newsbank.com (accessed February 4, 2022). (as Les Canotiers)

Portland Art Museum. Seventy-Five Masterpieces. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1967, cat. 20, illus.

Arts Magazine. (May 1964): illus. p. 55.

Wildenstein and Company. A Treasury of French Art from the Renaissance to Modern Times. New York: Wildenstein and Company, 1964, cat. 11.

Guild Hall of East Hampton. Pleasures of Summer. East Hampton: Guild Hall of East Hampton, 1958, cat. 12.

Wadsworth Atheneum. Off for the Holidays. Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1955, cat. 53.

Berhart, Marie. Gustave Caillebotte, 1848–1894. Paris: Wildenstein and Company, 1951, no. 53.

Galerie Beaux-Arts. Retrospective Gustave Caillebotte. Paris: Galerie Beaux-Arts and Wildenstein, 1951, no. 17.

Galleries Durand-Ruel. Exposition retrospective d'oeuvres de G. Caillebotte. Paris: Galleries Durand-Ruel, 1894, no. 30.

Fourth Group Exhibition of Impressionist Painters, April 10–May 11, 1879 [exhibition catalogue]. Paris, 1879, no. 9.

Exhibition History

Gustave Caillebotte: The Painter's Eye, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, June 28–October 4, 2015. (did not travel to Kimball Art Museum)

Caillebotte in Yerres, City of Yerres, Yerres, France, April 1–July 20, 2014.

Impressionists on the Water, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California, June 1–October 13, 2013; Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, November 9, 2013–February 15, 2014.

Gustave Caillebotte. An Impressionist and Photography, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany, October 18, 2012–January 20, 2013.

Gustave Caillebotte, Foundation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne, Switzerland, June 24–October 23, 2005.

Impressionism and the Age of Van Gogh: The Revolution of a New Art, Casa dei Carraresi, Treviso, Italy, November 9, 2002–April 13, 2003.

Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from American Collections, Baltimore Museum of Art, October 10, 1999–January 30, 2000; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 25–May 7, 2000; Cleveland Museum of Art, May 28–June 30, 2000.

Caillebotte, Grand Palais, Paris, France, September 13, 1994–January 9, 1995; Art Institute of Chicago, February 15–May 28, 1995; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, June 15–October 15, 1995.

The Crisis of Impressionism, 1978–1882, University of Michigan Museum of Art, November 2, 1979–January 6, 1980.

Gustave Caillebotte, A Retrospective Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, October 22, 1976–January 2, 1977; Brooklyn Museum, February 12–April 24, 1977.

Gustave Caillebotte, Wildenstein, New York, September 18–October 19, 1968.

Seventy-Five Masterworks, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, December 12, 1967–January 21, 1968.

A Treasury of French Art from the Renaissance to Modern Times, Wildenstein and Company, New York, Summer 1964–September 12, 1964.

Pleasures of Summer, Guild Hall, East Hampton, July 19–August 12, 1958.

Off for the Holidays, Wadsworth Atheneum, April 14–June 6, 1955.

Retrospective Gustave Caillebotte, Galerie Beaux-Arts, Paris, May 25–July 25, 1951.

Fourth Group Exhibition of Impressionist Painters, Paris, April 10–May 11, 1897.

Exposition retrospective d'oeuvres de G. Caillebotte, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, June 1894.

Fourth Impressionist Exhibition, Paris, France, 1879.

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Object information is subject to revision and enhancement based on ongoing research and review. If you notice an error or have additional information about this object, please contact collections@mam.org.

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