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Gustave
Caillebotte was born in 1848 to a wealthy family
who had made their money in textiles and real
estate during the redevelopment of Paris in
the 1860s. In 1875, wishing to make his public
debut, he submitted a painting to the Salon
jury, which rejected it. That work was probably
the Floorscrapers, which Caillebotte then decided
to exhibit in a more hospitable environment,
that of the second Impressionist group exhibition
of 1876.
His work, highly acclaimed, stole the show and
helped to make the second exhibition far more
of a popular success than the first. Wealthy
and generous, Caillebotte financially supported
his Impressionist friends by purchasing their
works at inflated prices and underwriting many
of the expenses encurred for the exhibitions.
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