The Floor Scrapers

The painting you're looking at now is The Floor Scrapers by Gustave Caillebotte. As the title suggests, it depicts workers scraping a wooden floor. By now, some of you may already be able to recognize why this is an Impressionist painting.

First, notice how beautifully Caillebotte captured the sunlight streaming in through the window on the left. That's one of the defining characteristics of Impressionism. Another Impressionist feature is the subject itself, an ordinary scene from everyday life, as well as the composition, which feels almost like a snapshot.

Caillebotte originally submitted this painting to the Salon. But the Salon was an extremely conservative exhibition. A painting that placed ordinary workers at the center had little chance of being accepted. As expected, it was rejected. Later, he exhibited it at the Second Impressionist Exhibition.

So, how did people respond? Well, like many Impressionist paintings at the time, it wasn't particularly well received. But that didn't matter very much to Caillebotte. Unlike many of the other Impressionists, he came from a wealthy family, so he wasn't under financial pressure.

For now, take your time enjoying this one.