AT THE Espace Louis Vuitton New York, two 19th-century masterpieces by Gustave Caillebotte are reunited for the first time – Jeune homme à sa fenêtre (“Young Man at His Window,” 1876) and Partie de bateau (“Boating Party,” circa 1877–1878) – in a transatlantic collaboration between Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Musée d’Orsay and Getty Museum.
Jeune homme à sa fenêtre by Gustave Caillebotte | Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Funded by LVMH and following the Fondation’s 2022 acquisition of Partie de bateau, this rare pairing presents Caillebotte as more than an Impressionist: he is a visionary chronicler of his age.
In Jeune homme à sa fenêtre, a solitary figure gazes over the reshaped boulevards of Haussmann’s Paris – creating both a reflective and restrained atmosphere. In Partie de bateau, that introspection slips into motion as friends drift down the Seine in white linen and sunlight. Together, the two works trace a poetic tension from private and public life.
Partie de bateau by Gustave Caillebotte | Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Born into privilege in 1848, the French painter used his inheritance not for comfort but for conviction. When the official Salon rejected him, he joined forces with the renegade Impressionists – Monet, Degas, Renoir – exhibiting, organising and even financing their cause. His generosity would reshape the canon: the collection he bequeathed to France now forms the heart of the Musée d’Orsay.
At Espace Louis Vuitton, Jeune homme à sa fenêtre and Partie de bateau both parade their beauty in Caillebotte: The Modern Man Reframed from 28 October to 16 November 2025 – and through them, Caillebotte redefines what it means to be a man, an artist and a witness to art.
by Imogen Clark
Espace Louis Vuitton New York: 6 E 57th Street, 5th floor New York, New York
Mondays to Saturdays: 10:00 am – 7:30 pm Sundays: 10:00 am – 6:30 pm