The Gardeners

Gustave Caillebotte was a passionate gardener who would make use of the large properties in his family to pursue this pastime when outside of the sprawling city of Paris.

Many photographs have emerged since his death which capture the artist relaxing in greenhouses or outdoors planting, pruning or resting in his natural surroundings. As an artist who enjoyed painting "normal" people at work, it therefore made sense to produce this scene of two gardeners attending to a large plot. His combination of impressionism and realism are both present in this piece, allowing us to pinpoint plenty of detail across this bright scene.

The long line of perfectly aligned plants suggests that these are professional employees, whilst also allowing Cailebotte to show off his skills in perspective. This appears to be a walled section of a much larger plot, perhaps one of the mansions in which he lived during his priviledged lifetime. Each element converges to the concept of perspective, be it the walls, rows of trees or newly planted. Even the gardeners are merged into this path from front to back.

Gardening and art have been a popular combination down the centuries with Caillebotte and Monet being two of the most famous exponents. Other keen gardening painters included Max Liebermann, Joaquín Sorolla, Emil Nolde and Pierre Bonnard. The relaxing nature of this pastime would help artists to unwind whilst also furthering their knowledge of colour and nature, information that could be used in future artwork.