Chickens, Game Birds, and Hares

c. 1882

Gustave Caillebotte

(French, 1848–1894)

Culture

France

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Unframed: 75.9 x 105.1 cm (29 7/8 x 41 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Promised Gift of Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley 10.2020

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

222 Impressionism & Post-Impressionism

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Did You Know?

Caillebotte balanced the notion of the wild with the orderly in this painting, as he created a grid-like composition of the vertically oriented game against the horizontal planes of the butcher shop shelves and hooks.

Description

Known largely for his figure and landscape paintings, Gustave Caillebotte also painted a series of stunning still lifes depicting fruit, shellfish, meat, chickens, and dead game. His exacting eye for realistic detail is evident in this view of chickens, game birds, and rabbits neatly arranged in a butcher shop. Fur, skin, and feathers are rendered with small, broken strokes of kaleidoscopic color—shimmering blues, deep reds, radiant yellows, and glowing greens. This superb display of Impressionist technique applied to a traditional subject forms a fascinating counterpoint to Caillebotte’s Portrait of a Man in the museum’s collection.