Caillebotte and modernity

There are 3 main characteristics working together to influence Caillebotte’s work toward the modernity style. They are isolation, gender roles, and perspective distortion. These characteristics can be seen clearly in many of his paintings. For the purpose of this discussion we will focus on his Floorscrapers 1875.

Here we see three men working seemingly together to accomplish the task at hand. Yet there is one man that is on his own in the middle to background of the painting. He is working alone paying attention to only the floor and the scraper. His two companions are it would appear working while conversing with each other. On the right side of the painting we can see the bottle and glass displayed that would have made this job more tolerable. It is also isolated in the scene as the men are working away from it and the viewer. This direction of travel also gives the viewer the impression of being isolated as they are not a part of the limited interactions of the men.

 These men are depicted in a woman’s domain they are working indoors while being painted by a male artist at a time when only female artists painted domestic scenes in the home and men were commonly painted out of doors, at work or play. The men are nude from the waist up and although the artist did not paint the men in an idealized anatomical style he painted them true to life. This gender role reversal and the realism in this painting of a realistic scene bespeak modernity.

The long lines on the floor from the men working with the scrapers along with the closely cropped scene cause the perspective to be expanded and distorted. According to the reading and our lecture the artists of this time were interested in Japanese prints and this distortion of perspective can be partially attributed to this. Another reason could be the near photographic style of the painting. The scene gives additional room for the men to occupy. However, this painting would not be the same without the space that is created by the distorted perspective as it would have the feeling of being cramped and crowded.

The “Floorscrapers” is a beautiful painting that gives a feeling of being smooth and complete while depicting the task for what it really is hard labor. It uses isolation to describe how we are all together but each of us live our own lives separately and alone. We interact to accomplish daily tasks and earn our keep but in reality when the day is over we may not be friends. By exploring gender roles in an indoor setting showing the men on their knees doing the hard labor we get to see the other side of daily life for the poor. Combined with an distorted perspective we can get close up without losing the space of an empty room. Since the brush strokes are smooth and the daily reality is being exposed this painting is a clear study in what it means to be modern.