Was Caillebotte a patron, collector, or painter in his own right?
Degas
His richly colourful paintings of women are reminiscent of Renoir at his best, and some of his later studies of nudes appear to owe much to the influence of Degas.
Apart from his early years as a somewhat atypical member of the Macchiaioli, Boldini remained on the periphery of those other movements and kept his distinctive style as the Master of Swish.
There are several uncanny parallels with the Impressionists, including the importance of the tache and plein air painting, early critical hostility followed later by acceptance, and of course the tragic deaths of Sernesi and Bazille in war.
Some men paddle their skiffs along a wooded river: a study in rippled reflections, bright ochre paddles, and watery greens and blues. Caillebotte was not only a patron of Impressionism, but shows that he was one of its Masters too.
