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Les orangers

Gustave Caillebotte, 1878

Les orangers is an 1878 painting by Gustave Caillebotte in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It shows a quiet summer garden, with figures resting in the shade beside potted orange trees while bright sunlight falls on the space beyond. It is a calm, closely observed scene of private leisure from an artist better known for his views of modern Paris.

Where to see it

Les orangers belongs to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and its listed location is the Audrey Jones Beck Building. Display arrangements can change because of rehangs, conservation work or loans, so check the museum's official website for current display status, opening hours and ticket information before you visit.

What to look for in person

Shade against sunlight

Stand back first and notice how the picture divides into zones of light. The foreground and the figures sit in cool, dappled shade, while the garden behind them is flooded with strong daylight. Caillebotte uses this contrast to pull your eye from the resting figures out into the bright distance. Look at the edges where shadow meets sun on the ground; the transitions show how carefully he observed the way summer light breaks through foliage and falls across a garden path.

The orange trees in their tubs

The title refers to the orange trees growing in large planters, a common feature of French gardens, where such trees were often moved indoors for winter. Look at how their clipped, rounded crowns and the solid shapes of the containers give structure to the composition, almost like architecture within the garden. Move closer to see how the leaves are built up with varied strokes and tones of green, and how small touches of colour suggest the fruit among the foliage.

Figures at rest

The people in the painting are not posed for drama. A man in a straw hat stands and a woman sits absorbed in reading, both apparently unaware of the viewer. This sense of an ordinary moment caught in passing is typical of Caillebotte's approach to modern life. Notice how the figures are placed slightly to one side rather than at the centre, and how the open space around them adds to the feeling of a slow, unhurried summer afternoon.

About the painting

Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) was a French painter closely linked with the Impressionist circle in Paris. He exhibited with the group and also supported his fellow artists, including by buying their work. Today he is widely known for his large, carefully constructed scenes of the rebuilt Paris of the 1870s, with its wide boulevards, bridges and apartment interiors. Alongside these urban pictures, he painted many scenes of leisure in the countryside and in gardens, and Les orangers, dated 1878, belongs to this side of his work. The painting is generally associated with the Caillebotte family property at Yerres, southeast of Paris, where the artist spent summers and painted gardens, river scenes and boating subjects. Here the subject is simple: a private garden, potted orange trees, and members of a household passing a warm day outdoors. What makes the picture rewarding to study in person is the combination of Caillebotte's two tendencies. On one hand, there is the Impressionist interest in light, colour and the passing moment. On the other, there is his more structured sense of design, seen in the firm placement of the tubs, the clear division between shaded foreground and sunlit background, and the deliberate off-centre arrangement of the figures. Rather than dissolving forms in light, he keeps them solid and legible. When you visit, give yourself time to look both from a distance, to take in the overall pattern of light and shade, and from closer up, to follow the brushwork in the foliage and the ground. The painting rewards slow viewing more than a quick glance.

Key facts

More by Gustave Caillebotte

• Paris Street; Rainy Day — Art Institute of Chicago

Sources

• Wikidata Q4067988