Gustave Caillebotte was born in Paris in 1848. He was a naval engineer and had a fortune that came to him from his father's inheritance, received in 1873 and which allowed him to paint only without however liking the academic style. A pupil of Léon Bonnat at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he joined the Impressionist movement. He is particularly linked to Monet and Renoir, two painters who particularly symbolize the Impressionist movement and buys their works and the less salable representations, such as Le moulin de la galette and The Swing , by Renoir. It thus provides financial assistance to this artistic movement. Caillebotte is rather a naturalist painter, influenced by realism; he likes to paint the theme of modern life, which sometimes reminds Degas and Renoir. Renoir is an executor and has difficulty getting his bequest accepted. Caillebotte died on February 21, 1894 in Gennevilliers.
It will take three years of negotiation for the State to accept only part of the collection in Luxembourg, which includes three works by Manet, thirteen by Monet, eight by Renoir, thirteen by Pissarro, seven by Degas, eight by Sisley, five by Cézanne and one by Caillebotte. In addition to his passion for painting, Caillebotte also devotes his time to his boats, with which he races.