The Orange Trees

by Gustave Caillebotte (1887)

The Orange Trees, by Gustave Caillebotte

I adore everything about this painting. The lavender shade of the gravel, the man’s white socks against the grey of his shoes. The yellowish chairs, the flowers, and the sleeping dog in the background. It makes me want to pull up a chair.

Notice the newspaper left behind on the far table? It’s likely that the woman was reading together with the man, but she’s jumped up to do some some quick pruning. Sometimes it can be hard to sit still on a hot day.

Caillebotte himself was an avid gardener, and often included horticulture in his paintings. Hence why “Les Oranges” or “The Orange Trees” feels like a particularly loving scene.

It’s painted “en plain air” (outside) at the Caillebotte family estate in Yerre. The man reading the paper is the painter’s brother Martial and the woman is their cousin Zoé.

The white planters for the trees were very fashionable at the time, and also provided a comfortable nook for the lightly painted steel garden furniture. All in all, this would have been a familiar scene for Gustave, as he spent much of his summers painting outdoors and hiding from the sun at his family estate.

Notice also the composition. Unlike “academic” art where the main subjects would be facing the viewer, here, the subject is facing away. It’s a completely naturalistic scene. He might even be taking a nap.

And yet the painting nevertheless features a great depth of field and vision, with the gravel path curving upwards, and the woman’s silhouette contrasting with the edges of the flowerbeds and the lawn. The titular orange trees are cut out of the frame, but provide a deep shade that makes the painting feel lush and warm at the same time.

Above all, this image reminds me of my own home and so many leisurely summer afternoons spent in the garden reading.

There’s such a tranquility to this scene. I wouldn’t call it Edenic (which is often the association with Orange trees in Art), but there’s definitely a sense of timelessness here. Ironic, considering that the impressionists were all about the passage of time and light.

It’s one of my favorite impressionist paintings. I wish I could step into it and take a seat, newspaper in hand, and sip a cold glass of orange juice. Ah, the promise of summer!

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Julian