Giuseppe de Nittis: "The Place de Carrousel and the Ruins of the Tuileries Palace in 1882

What draws me to this painting is the sense of desolation coupled with contradictory signs of life that continues despite everything. The vast open space, taking up to half of the canvas, may evoke feeling of alienation and even fear of the ruins that border it. The palace was utterly ruined from the inside by fire set on by Paris Commune in 1871, yet the outer shell remained; it was demolished completely at the year of the birth of this painting. Wikipedia notes that the palace was considered the symbol of aristocratic decadent way of life. De Nittis might have wanted to pass on that vision: the woman wearing an elegant black dress and a hat (probably a sign of a noble descent) seems to be leaving the scene, whereas the figures of the man and the woman who enter it seem distinctively working class. Notably, the man is pulling a cart - he is pulling, bringing forth his own baggage of social and political interests.

The treatment of light is also particularly interesting here: the palace is over abundantly lit, which gives it a somewhat fantastical appearance, which in turn provides a distancing effect from the moving people in the foreground. The physical distance is enhanced even more by the lighting - rendering the construction a remoteness of another kind, that of time. Indeed, it may seem somewhat Roman and ancient to the uninitiated. However, even without such a hypothesis, there seems to be an implication that the painting encompasses two historical periods, that of the monarchy and that of industrial progress and capitalism. There is no reconciliation, but clear, even violent separation - perhaps, violent political events demand appropriate artistic effects.

*after one more work by de Nittis, I hope to begin looking at "one painting a day"

Giuseppe de Nittis: "Return From The Ball"

Is there a more obvious way to draw attention to female breasts than to locate them at the exact center of a painting? Today we often complain about the ubiquity of sex and sexual innuendo everywhere we turn our heads: on the street, in advertising and in entertainment. We often forget that this is not a novel fashion. This painting serves as a potent example...

The theme that underlies this work is objectification: of the depicted characters as the imaginary objects of our desire; of women who attend balls and wear such fanciful dresses, which, I have no doubt were in the contemporary vogue. The faces of these girls are turned away from the viewer - they seem to be tiptoeing in order to remain unseen and unheard. But the message is clear - it is not their heads that matter, it is their bodies, - which look at us, more than eloquent in their seduction. These two were meant to be the center of attention at the ball, and now they are the center of attention on this canvas.

I fail to focus on any other aspect of this piece. The girls are probably excited and just had a lot of fun. As I have learned from War and Peace, balls were a grand entertainment and meant a lot to contemporary women, socially and economically. But neither the richness of their dresses nor the somewhat naive peeking (it is unclear whether they are looking inside or outside of a house) manage to distract from the central aforementioned theme. And this makes it a powerful work of art.

Gustave Caillebotte: "The Man on the Balcony"

These two works present similar subject matter, yet the one on the left does it in a strictly impressionistic style, while its counterpart involves Caillebotte's trademark cocktail of painting techniques. The former once again demonstrates that impressionism is not Caillebotte's forte. Though the perspective and the immediacy of city life are conveyed convincingly - as always, the background benefits - the leaning figure of the man is static, and the light effects are dubious: the smudging of the facial features and the balcony (more different colors!) does not appear artistically justified. The air was probably clear at that height, which should have rendered the eyes visible. It is as if the artist was led by a formula, instead of relying on inner instinct that would guide him to make correct decisions. It is obvious that Gustave Caillebbotte lacked that impressionistic instinct, or lacked it in its fullest and purest form. However, he does employ it with much more success in another similarly named piece.




In the painting on the right we see the back of the man: he is half turning towards the viewer, as if giving a last glance at the street, before turning towards the interior. The positioning (and the realistic depiction) of his arms and legs gives the satisfying illusion of movement. The far background lends to the feeling of intimacy by way of contrast; this man peeks from the inside to the outside - he does not participate as his neighbor does. Even though there might be something sentimental about this scene, it is more convincing, because it is consistent with the painter's style and shows maturity and control.

I have to add, however, that there's something tempting about the former work - perhaps it is the risk taken or maybe the detached and desolate sensation passed on by the open aerial angle (unlike in the framed balcony on the right) - perhaps Caillebbotte's conception still works, despite lacking clear definition.

Gustave Caillebotte: "Boating Party"

This work immediately caught my attention for an effect that would be best described (though anachronistically) as cinematic. In more appropriate terms, it is the perspective, and the incredible sense of movement that convey the general feeling of continuity. The rower's right hand is slightly higher than the left, the boat is also slightly tilted and the light appears to glide randomly on the water - all of which pass on the sensation of motion and change.

Here the two styles do not mix but rather transpose. The lower part of the painting - the foreground - is realistic, the boat being depicted with academic accuracy; towards the top - the background - the style turns more and more impressionistic. It seems that the gradual transposition lends credibility to the artist's conception, though not without cost: by avoiding the edges, this work emits less individual creative force. In a way, this piece compromises Caillebotte's unique style, as it does not display all the character evident in his more daring compositions.

This is a tamed Caillebotte, which relies more on technique than invention and depth. That said, the technique is indeed superb, and I, as the viewer, am positively absorbed by, or, perhaps, into, the center of events.

Gustave Caillebotte: "Interior"

This, I believe, is not a very good attempt. Subject matter is rather sentimental, but it is how it is treated that caught my attention. The artist's endeavor to mix styles results here in an insecure and somewhat scattered portrayal of a family scene.

The woman in front of us is a realistic portrait adorned with a few impressionistic brush strokes, the most vivid being the notable white that delineates her cheek. That same white (or off-white perhaps) unevenly covers her neck, chin and the left hand, holding the newspaper. I fail to see the logic in this distribution of color, whether it displays the reflection of the light inside the room, or serves as an artistic effect. It seems as though someone covered her features with chalk, and I doubt I can blame anyone but the painter for that strange act.

The man in the background, however, is shown in a purely impressionistic manner, and quite convincingly for that matter. However, because of the unclear perspective, he does not mingle well with the figure of the woman in the foreground. Interestingly, the realistic chair and wall accord harmoniously but, that is hardly enough to make the work compelling. All in all, this piece contains a few elements that may appeal to the viewer separately, but which do not accompany each other to produce a single unified piece of art, which consequently cannot evoke an effect that it does not possess.