A major exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago is shedding new light on Gustave Caillebotte, an Impressionist artist whose radical focus on the male body challenged the artistic conventions of 19th-century France. The show, titled "Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World," originated at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and presents a comprehensive look at an artist who dared to turn his gaze toward men when his contemporaries were fixated on female subjects.

While most Impressionist painters of the 1800s repeatedly depicted women as dancers, opera singers, bathers, and fashionable figures in elaborate gowns, Caillebotte took a contrarian approach. His work primarily focused on men and the male form, a choice that was considered radical for its time. As Gloria Groom, co-curator of the exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, told the French newspaper Le Figaro, "His subject matter is radical during the time because men were not supposed to stare at men, and he's staring at men."

The exhibition's most captivating piece, "Man at his Bath" (1884), portrays a well-built naked man from behind as he towels his upper torso after bathing. His pale buttocks are tinged with pink from the hot soak, and his masculine stance with splayed feet allows for detailed painterly definition of each leg. Wet footprints mark his trail across the floor, bringing immediate realism to the scene. The composition suggests someone is watching, capturing the lingering gaze of the artist himself.

This intimate portrayal stands in stark contrast to Edgar Degas's many female bathers, who are shown in awkward, less sensual poses as they bend, turn, and scrub. Caillebotte was a friend and collector of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and one might wonder if "Man at his Bath" serves as a provocative response to paintings in Caillebotte's collection, such as "The Swing" (1876), which depicts rosy-cheeked maidens in typical Impressionist fashion.

The exhibition also features Caillebotte's only female nude, "Nude on a Couch" (circa 1880), which shows an unidealized, thin woman reclining with clothes piled around her. Everything except her face is carefully rendered, including pubic hair and pale skin illuminated by light from a nearby window. The painting's unembellished, private immediacy feels unique to the time period, demonstrating that his artistic vision extended beyond gender preferences to encompass a more honest, direct approach to human subjects.

Another compelling work, "Man Drying his Leg" (1884), reveals greater influence from Degas. Here, the same model sits naked in a chair with his leg resting on the edge of the bath as he towels himself. While the beauty of the body has classical echoes, the intimate domestic scene feels voyeuristic, with no distanced allegorical or mythological overlay, nor any heroic overtones like those found in Jacques-Louis David's "Death of Marat" (1793).

Beyond these obviously seductive works, the exhibition broadly focuses on men in various social contexts - hanging out on balconies above Boulevard Haussmann, boating, playing cards, shooting pool, reading newspapers, and smoking pipes. These scenes capture patrician pursuits within a top-hat-and-tails milieu. Notably, Caillebotte also cast his artistic eye toward laborers, demonstrating his interest in men across social classes.

Caillebotte's most famous painting, "Floor Scrapers" (1875), presents three shirtless men kneeling on a wooden floor in the artist's studio, using tools to remove the finish. Their extended arms form elegant geometry against the horizontal wainscoting on the back wall. The exhibition includes individual preparatory sketches of arms, hands, and body orientations, revealing the intense planning that went into this masterpiece. From the light pooling on the floor to the kneeling, arched postures of the men, every detail was carefully considered. The work drew acclaim at the second Impressionism exhibition in Paris in 1876, which Caillebotte helped organize.

As both artist and collector, Caillebotte supported the careers of his Impressionist peers while developing his own distinctive vision. The many portraits in the show focus on his close friends and brothers, often staged in domestic interiors. His brother Martial, a musician and composer, is painted at the piano near a window, with the perspective tilted just enough to invite the viewer into the scene. Other works are more formal in pose yet informal in setting, such as "Portrait of Mr. R" (1877), where the seated subject is engulfed by a decidedly feminine patterned blue and white couch with matching wallpaper.

The exhibition also includes charming personal touches, such as a portrait of Martial's dog, which serves as a sweet nod to familial closeness. The little whippet sits on a rug rendered in red and green paint dabs, his fur depicted through active brushstrokes. The dog's name, "Paul," is carefully inscribed in gold in the upper corner, demonstrating Caillebotte's attention to intimate details.

The show traces Caillebotte's journey from Parisian haute bourgeois life to a country home along the Seine, where a coterie of male friends frequently visited. There, plein-air painting, yachting, and gardening occupied him until his death at age 45. The exhibition presents these biographical details without speculating on Caillebotte's sexuality, instead floating intrigue about his artistic choices. Wall labels identify his models as bachelors and note that he lived out of wedlock with a woman, with little known about their relationship - she is listed as a "friend" in census data.

As a painter, Caillebotte was exploratory and gestural, seeking unusual perspectives particularly evident in his depictions of solitary male boaters that bring viewers closely into their sphere. Coming from wealth, he didn't need to sell his paintings, which the exhibition suggests may have allowed him to experiment more freely with unconventional subjects and approaches.

The exhibition reveals an important but lesser-known aspect of Impressionism's "underbelly" - the grit of smokestacks, tensions of family dynamics, longing for purity in nature, and depictions of drinking, poverty, and prostitution. Caillebotte's work adds another layer to this complexity by presenting a seductive gaze that dares to suggest male bodies are equally sensual and worthy of artistic attention. "Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World" continues at the Art Institute of Chicago through October 5, offering visitors a chance to discover this revolutionary artist's unique contribution to Impressionist art.