In January 2023, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris acquired La Partie de bateau (The Boating Party), an 1877 painting by Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) hailed as a major work of Impressionism for its bold and dynamic treatment, along with its subject’s carefree nature.
But this wasn’t always so. In fact, “The Boating Party” was long regarded as minor in the history of painting – much like the rest of Caillebotte’s work. The artist had fallen out of fashion before his death, mainly because of the outmoded subjects he dealt with, such as manual labour or idleness.
