Régates à Argenteuil

Completed only shortly before his untimely death, this painting epitomises Caillebotte’s unique character. It shows him deftly piloting a racing yacht of his own design down the Seine, accompanied by another sailor, probably Joseph Kerbrat. Caillebotte is showing off his prowess as a racer and engineer, as well as his social status as a participant in a bourgeois-dominated sport. The painting demonstrates his virility and vitality, as well as his enjoyment of male bonds. Caillebotte housed Kerbat on his Petit-Gennevilliers estate and apparently gifted him a late self-portrait (Orsay, vers 1892). Many of Caillebotte’s friends were also members of the Cercle de la voile de Paris. The painting is a testament to Caillebotte’s ambition, his cross-pollination of painting with other pursuits, and his restless drive to chart his own trajectory.