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Sketchbook

A work made of sketchbook containing 40 drawings: 30 in graphite, 7 in watercolor over graphite, and 3 in graphite and brush and gray wash, on 40 sheets of cream wove paper bound in brown cloth.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of sketchbook containing 40 drawings: 30 in graphite, 7 in watercolor over graphite, and 3 in graphite and brush and gray wash, on 40 sheets of cream wove paper bound in brown cloth.

Date:

June 1883–September 1887

Artist:

Gustave Caillebotte
French, 1848–1894

About this artwork

In 1881 Gustave Caillebotte purchased a home near Argenteuil, then a rural town on the outskirts of Paris, with his brother Martial, and this led to a notable decrease in his artistic productivity. Caillebotte’s “lost years” coincide with the use of this sketchbook.

The subjects of the drawings in the book—panoramic views, portraits, intimate garden scenes, details of trees and architecture, and copies after other works—reflect Caillebotte’s shift away from his earlier depictions of urban Parisians. None are studies for later works; instead this sketchbook is more experimental, as Caillebotte focused on developing his use of watercolor and drawing out of doors.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Gustave Caillebotte

Title

Sketchbook

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1883–1887

Medium

Sketchbook containing 40 drawings: 30 in graphite, 7 in watercolor over graphite, and 3 in graphite and brush and gray wash, on 40 sheets of cream wove paper bound in brown cloth

Inscriptions

Signed and inscribed inside front cover, upper left corner: “du / p. 75 (?) G. Caillebotte”

Dimensions

Sheets: 11.4 × 19.5 cm (4 1/2 × 7 11/16 in.); Sketchbook: 12.5 × 20.3 × 1.5 cm (4 15/16 × 8 × 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Margaret Day Blake Fund

Reference Number

2011.85

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/208200/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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