A Man with an Umbrella Stepping onto a Sidewalk

Gustave Caillebotte was a key figure in the rise and development of Impressionism. Born into a wealthy French family, he was best known during his lifetime for his support of his fellow Impressionists, helping them financially and collecting a considerable number of their paintings. Unlike other Impressionists (with the exception of Degas), Caillebotte was a keen draftsman. He created the compositions of his paintings after extensive work on drawings and sketches, some of which were likely based on photographs. This is a preparatory drawing for one of the figures in the background of Caillebotte’s best-known work—Paris Street; Rainy Weather (The Art Institute of Chicago), which was exhibited at the Third Impressionist Exhibition, in April 1877.