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Chicago Tribune
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: The Art Institute defends the title of ‘Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World.' A catalog contributor is skeptical
Since it was acquired in 1964, Gustave Caillebotte's 'Paris Street; Rainy Day' has become all but synonymous with the Art Institute. It appears in the movie 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off,' and in Masterpiece, the Parker Brothers game. If visitors follow one of the most common routes into the galleries — through the Michigan Avenue entrance, up the stairs, and into the Impressionism gallery — it's the first painting they'll greet, trading one urban tableau for another. For the first time, the museum displayed Caillebotte's sketches for 'Paris Street; Rainy Day' as part of 'Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World,' a new survey co-curated by the Art Institute alongside the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In his surviving sketch of the central couple, only the man is rendered in any detail. The figure looped around his arm is just a woman-shaped void. Two things set Caillebotte (1848-1894) apart from his Impressionist peers. One is that he was fabulously wealthy, the son of a textile manufacturer. The other is that he overwhelmingly trained his artistic eye on other men. Men walking down the street in his Paris neighborhood. Men he played cards with. Men he hired as contractors to work his family estate. Men toweling themselves off after a bath — like in one 1884 painting deemed so salacious that, upon completion, it was intentionally displayed in a far-flung corner of a Brussels gallery. Gloria Groom, an exhibition co-curator and the Art Institute's chair of European painting and sculpture, said she cannot think of 'any other artist' from the period who shared Caillebotte's predilection for painting working-class men, like those depicted in his 'Floor Scrapers' series. 'That's what makes him so distinct from his fellow Impressionists: his comfortableness in the social position that he was born into,' Groom said. 'He's a distinct artist; he has a very distinct way of showing his world.' Recently, some have claimed the Art Institute is bowdlerizing that world. In the past year, the exhibit 'Painting His World' appeared at the Musée d'Orsay and the Getty under the title 'Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men.' That the Art Institute alone selected a different title has led some to accuse the Art Institute of queer erasure, reflecting broader fears of institutional self-censorship. Jonathan Katz, the lead curator of 'The First Homosexuals' at Wrightwood 659, sees similarities between the Caillebotte fracas and the one surrounding the Art Institute's changing of a placard text in 2022. The work it accompanied, Félix González-Torres' 'Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.),' was named for González-Torres' partner Ross Laycock. The original placard noted that Laycock died of AIDS in 1991, the year the artwork was devised; the Art Institute's new placard, quickly replaced after public outcry, had removed mention of Laycock altogether. 'I'm always struck by the way this institution not only seems to be pathologically tied to a '50s mindset, but moreover, doesn't learn from its own stepping in it,' Katz said. Katz and his husband, fellow art scholar André Dombrowski, were invited to contribute an essay to the exhibition catalog — also titled 'Painting Men' — examining Caillebotte's work through a queer lens. On a recent walkthrough of the exhibition with the Tribune, Katz said he felt those contributions had been toned down significantly compared to the exhibition's first outing at the Musée d'Orsay, where 'Painting Men' had garnered a conservative backlash. In response, he said, the Musee d'Orsay held a conference inviting scholars to submit papers with competing views on the question of Caillebotte's sexuality. 'It was a model of curatorial transparency,' Katz said. 'That is not what this institution (the Art Institute) has ever done.' Johnny Willis, Katz's associate curator on 'The First Homosexuals,' confronted Groom about the exhibition's downplaying of queerness during an Art Institute Q&A in June. Groom declined to address Willis' concerns at length, saying it was common to change exhibition titles and that she would not 'speculate (about) something that was painted 140 years ago.' The following week, the Tribune published a letter to the editor objecting to Groom's response to Willis and to the Art Institute's title. 'It's disappointing to see the Art Institute — once a beacon for cultural leadership — kowtow to imagined donor discomfort or a conservative fear of thought-provoking conversation,' wrote attorney Matthew Richard Rudolphi. In an interview with the Tribune, Groom and a museum spokesperson provided more context on the title change. By their account, the Art Institute finalized the 'Painting His World' title nearly two years ago, based on feedback from a patron focus group that included that title, as well as 'Painting Men,' as options. The museum declined to provide materials from that audience survey, saying it considered the results proprietary. But Groom and a museum spokesperson, who both reviewed the feedback, said patrons overwhelmingly associated Caillebotte with 'Paris Street; Rainy Day,' which prominently features a heterosexual couple. 'The main thrust of the response was that ('Painting Men') was not what they think of, and it seemed limited when his work is not limited to just painting men,' Groom told the Tribune. Megan Michienzi, the museum spokesperson, said the Art Institute typically pursues such 'title testing' for its major exhibitions. For example, it title-tested 2023's 'Van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: The Modern Landscape,' as well as the forthcoming 'Bruce Goff: Material Worlds,' opening in December. 'While we do not consider title testing to be definitive, it is directional in helping us determine what resonates with audiences,' Michienzi said in an email. And just as exhibition titles sometimes change between host institutions — 'Myth and Marble,' for example, is now 'The Torlonia Collection: Masterpieces of Roman Sculpture' at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts — Groom said it's standard museum practice for an institution to write its own exhibition texts, even if the exhibition is co-produced. That meant she and her team started from scratch rather than working from the Musée d'Orsay's or the Getty's wall texts, though she acknowledged that she was 'definitely aware' of what was written in both. 'I would never presume to copy someone else's text,' she said. 'We all know our audiences and Paris' are quite different; Getty's is different.' 'Painting His World' wall texts follow the general approach promised by its title. On this point, it breaks with the more frank discussion of gender and sexuality at the Musée d'Orsay and the Getty. 'Painting His World' views Caillebotte's homosociality as one interpretive frame of many — class, leisure, urbanity, family. Neither the d'Orsay nor the Getty assert that Caillebotte was gay or bisexual, noting, as does the Art Institute, that he had a live-in female 'companion.' (That said, we know little about her: Caillebotte rarely painted her, and census records refer to her only as Caillebotte's 'amie,' or 'friend.') But by leaning into his works' provocativeness and, occasionally, sensuality, both go further than the Art Institute in nodding to the possibility. To Katz, the Art Institute's approach leads to missed insights. Class tension is discussed in the room with Caillebotte's famous 'Floor Scrapers' — the workers' muscles rippling, their skin glistening like the varnish of the floor. But he believes the Art Institute's wall texts leave too much unspoken. 'While French law permitted homosexuality, it did not permit any form of public solicitation,' Katz said. 'If you were a man of a certain social class, you had a network of others who could provide entertainment for you that didn't entail public exposure. We wouldn't expect to find any kind of smoking gun there, because class protected them.' Elsewhere, the Art Institute's curatorial approach appeared more evasive. Most rooms in the exhibition flow sequentially — that is, you can only access one room via the previous, predetermining visitors' progression through the galleries. Unlike the Getty and Musée d'Orsay iterations, the gallery with the portraits and nudes, where the question of Caillebotte's sexuality is pointedly addressed for the first and only time, is the exception, sequestered in an area visitors can bypass completely if they choose. Groom said the placement of the three nudes in the space's gallery-within-a-gallery — featuring two men and one woman — was meant to evoke greater intimacy, as though we ourselves were entering the privacy of the subjects' quarters. Plus, in a clear break from the 19th-century squeamishness surrounding 'Man at His Bath,' the subject is placed so that his buttocks confront viewers from yards away. They could beckon you into that section — or they could drive you away. 'At the same time they deny an erotic reading, they enforce a kind of an erotic reading by creating a strip show in the middle of the exhibition,' Katz said. Near 'Man at His Bath' hangs 'Self-Portrait at the Easel' (1879-80), one of four self-portraits in the exhibition. Despite its name, that painting does not depict Caillebotte alone. Behind him is another man, lounging on a couch. The man's features are indistinct, but he's lazily reading a newspaper, leading scholars to identify him as Richard Gallo, a journalist in Caillebotte's wealthy bachelor circle. Gallo is one of the most frequently identifiable subjects in Caillebotte's paintings. He appears in six other pieces in 'Painting His World' alone. Unlike the Musée d'Orsay and the Getty, however, the Art Institute placard doesn't acknowledge Gallo's presence in the 'Self-Portrait.' Instead, it cites the artwork that hangs behind Gallo — Renoir's 'Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette' — as a launchpad to discuss Caillebotte's vast art collection, which eventually became the basis for the Musée d'Orsay. When I brought up the omission to Groom, she said visitors should consult the catalog — which acknowledges the significance of Gallo's presence early on, in the introduction — if they were curious about the second figure. 'You can only have 120 words in a label, and you have to determine what is most essential. And that was the time when we could talk about Caillebotte the collector,' she said. Katz doesn't buy that. 'Nobody is asking Gloria or any art historian to speak definitively about anything here. We can't,' he said. 'What we can do is problematize, ask, point out and let viewers draw their own conclusion. What we don't want is the institution to mediate for us in a single voice.' Policing visitors' impressions is the last thing a museum should do, but how light a touch is too light? On one of my two visits to the exhibition, I entered the gallery with a family who concluded, after reading the anteroom's introductory text, that Caillebotte must have been a misogynist. On the same visit, I watched a couple scour the gift shop for the exhibition catalog; after finding a book called 'Gustave Caillebotte: Painting Men' but not 'Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World,' they left in empty-handed confusion. Revisiting the portraits and nudes section with Katz, I overheard a teasing tête-à-tête between a security guard and visitors about how they'd found the exhibition's 'adult section.' Seconds after I turned off my recorder during my walkthrough with Katz, a 20-something visitor, overhearing our conversation, approached us and timidly asked if we knew, perchance, whether Caillebotte was queer. Katz and I exchanged glances. The answer isn't the point. Being unafraid to pose the question is.
Chicago Tribune
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Letters: Title of exhibition at the Art Institute smacks of whitewashing
As a longtime supporter of the Art Institute of Chicago and an admirer of Gustave Caillebotte's work, I must express my profound disappointment with the institute's decision to rename the recent joint exhibition — originally titled 'Painting Men' at the Musée d'Orsay and the Getty Museum — to the sanitized and evasive 'Painting His World' here in Chicago. Having visited the d'Orsay's presentation last fall, where 'Paris Street; Rainy Day' — a masterpiece shared between Chicago and Caillebotte — stood as a centerpiece, I was struck by the French curatorial approach: thoughtful, honest and open to interpretation. The title 'Painting Men' was not an imposition or a presumption; it was an acknowledgment of the artist's lifelong preoccupation with the male figure, urban masculinity, and male intimacy in public and private spaces. By contrast, the Art Institute's retitling feels like a disappointing act of erasure. The new title not only dulls the edge of inquiry but reinforces the notion that recognition of queerness — or even ambiguity — in an artist's work must be neutralized for the comfort of a presumed audience. Equally troubling was curator Gloria Groom's response during Thursday night's member preview, in which she dismissed any exploration of Caillebotte's possible queerness by claiming she would not 'presume' his sexuality. Yet acknowledging that Caillebotte painted men — overwhelmingly, repeatedly and with intimacy — is not presumption. It's fact. What the French curators did so well was allow space for interpretation without fear, offering viewers the dignity of their own intelligence. Chicagoans deserve better. We should not shrink from critical engagement or whitewash complexity in the name of palatability. It's disappointing to see the Art Institute — once a beacon for cultural leadership — kowtow to imagined donor discomfort or a conservative fear of thought-provoking conversation. Let's trust our audiences, as the French have, to explore the fullness of an artist's world — including the people who populated constructive criticism by Edward Keegan in the Tribune ('Chicago Fire stadium plans cry out for a bit of quirkiness,' June 25) regarding the design of the new soccer stadium and the surrounding land referred to as The 78 in Chicago's South Loop prompts reflection on the many proposals for this land development, the Bears' new stadium and the possible new home for the White Sox. The design of the stadium and surrounding area offers a breath of fresh air in a city teeming with ideas but coming up short on the delivery. As a self-made man, Fire owner Joe Mansueto will fund this project with his own money as he has done with other projects mentioned by Keegan in the column. No whining. No pouting. No expectation of state funding nor Chicago resident tax dollars to build a private stadium for a soccer team. Yes, it differs from a traditional look in the stadium world. Open to criticism, the Gensler firm has presented a solid design. No political shenanigans. No groveling. A proposed start and finish date with a realistic budget. Rising above the need for a pat on the back, Mansueto has demonstrated the fortitude required to bring a solid idea to fruition with proper funding. Residents owe Mansueto our backing and a thank you for a job well has gotten a lot of bad press lately. As a lifelong Chicago-area resident, I would like to share some positives about a recent experience of mine. Last month, I walked from the West Ridge neighborhood to downtown and back — about 26.2 miles, or the distance of a marathon. I zigzagged through many neighborhoods, going through parks and streets. The street market in the Logan Square neighborhood went on for about a half mile. The stalls were packed with fruits, veggies, ethnic cuisine and even morel mushrooms. The music was lively, and the people were friendly. No police officers. As I approached, Humboldt Park was bustling with families out walking, kids playing ball and lovers holding hands. The park is where my parents courted in the 1940s. In my mind, I was able to picture them having a great day in the park. Part of the allure of this neighborhood is Humboldt Boulevard — gazing at the old mansions and churches that were once Jewish synagogues. I eventually headed to the United Center and then east. I can see how this neighborhood, once decimated by the riots of 1968 following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has been transformed. The cafes and stores bustle with people of all ages. The West Loop is alive and well. In the 1970s, this was not possible. Once I got downtown, it was crowded for a Sunday. I headed back north, going through the North Side neighborhoods of Bucktown and Old Town. Some of the side streets are lovely, with a canopy of trees over the streets, beautiful gardens and the ever-present Chicago black wrought-iron fences. Going through Wrigleyville on a game day will always be an experience unto itself. The crowds gathered outside the ballpark were covered in Cubs wear. There were vendors selling water, peanuts, shirts and hats. The streets of Clark and Addison were blocked off, so it was like a street fair. The cops were friendly and helped tourists take pictures of the marquee. Then on to the Lakeview, Lincoln Square and Budlong Woods neighborhoods before returning to West Ridge. They were mostly subdued compared to the other areas that I covered, but they were all well kept up and clean. The city itself never looked better, and the people of this city do appreciate all that Chicago has to offer. There is an abundance of neighborhood parks in which everyone can enjoy a drink from a water fountain or a splash from it to cool off.I read that Mel Brooks just turned 99 years old. Maybe laughter is the best medicine.
Chicago Tribune
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago's museums for summer 2025: ‘Reptiles' at the Field, brews at the zoos and ‘Spider-Man' the exhibit
The movement du jour is for a museum to describe its offerings as 'immersive.' It's become a cliché, but it does nod to a cultural trend that predated, then was amplified by, the pandemic: Experiences, not exhibitions, are coaxing folks off their couches and into cultural institutions. That trend crops up in our museum preview this year. In fact, some of these suggested events don't even take place within the confines of their host institution. But if you find that a classic, walk-and-read exhibit can't be beat — I tend to be in that camp — we have plenty of those, too. Adventurers, academics and all-around-curious-people, read on! Kayaking for a cause: Dreaming of afternoons idling down the Chicago River? You can live out your summer fantasy while doing good thanks to the Shedd Aquarium, whose experts will lead conservation tours by kayak all summer long. Fridays and Saturdays through Sept. 27 on the Chicago River; $65 per person; reservations at 'Reptiles Alive!': This exhibit builds on the work of Field Museum herpetologist Sara Ruane, also featured earlier this year as part of the museum's rotating 'Changing Face of Science' exhibition. If you come expecting the usual models or taxidermy, you're in for a treat: 20 live reptiles, including a spitting cobra and emerald tree boa, are housed onsite for the exhibition. June 20 to April 5 at the Field Museum, 1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; requires all-access pass, $43 adults, 'Native Pop!': For generations, activists have pushed museums — including many in Chicago — to depict Native Americans' lives as they are, rather than presenting them like a relic of the past. The 'now' is palpable in this Newberry Library showcase of Indigenous artists working in various pop mediums. Through July 19 at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St., open Tuesdays through Thursdays 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; free admission, On at the Art Institute: In addition to its exploration of 'Paris Street; Rainy Day' by painter Gustave Caillebotte, the museum is hosting the largest local retrospective of thought-provoking wartime sculptor H.C. Westermann in decades, open through May 2026. Contemporary art lovers will be agog at Raqib Shaw's epic 'Paradise Lost,' a 21-panel artwork that has never been displayed in its complete form until now (through Jan. 19). Meanwhile, the museum continues to show off its huge collection of Japanese prints with 'The Dawn of Modernity: Japanese Prints, 1850–1900,' in which artists document Japan's encounters with the industrialized West. All at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave., open Wednesdays through Mondays 11 a.m.-5 p.m., except Thursdays, open 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; admission $26-$32, Become a researcher for a day: A new exhibition opening at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum allows visitors to try their hands at activities inspired by real-life fieldwork. 'By A Thread: Nature's Resilience' emphasizes that conserving the natural world isn't a passive proposition: It requires everyone's help, including yours. The exhibit opens the same day as the museum's Summer Nature Fest. For $10 admission ($8 children), you can stick around for food and activities after the museum closes. June 20 to June 2026 at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, open daily 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; adult tickets $12-$17, A peek inside: The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry's upcoming 'Beyond the Surface,' exhibit is a deep dive into the X-ray photography of Andrei Duman, starting July 3. The images show the inner workings of everyday objects, such as the many components of a car or the delicate wiring of a corded telephone. If you can't wait for that, a current exhibition in the spirit of the museum's recent '007 Science' feature, 'Marvel's Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing.' is open through February, though it's a little light on the science. Both at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, open daily 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; admission $26 adults. 'Marvel's Spider-Man' requires an additional ticket costing adults $18-$22; reservations and more information at Boozy zoos: The Brookfield Zoo is becoming a watering hole in the name of wildlife conservation. Next up are 'Tequila and Tails' and 'Wines and Vines,' the latter doubling as the opening of the Zoo's new Tropical Forests habitat. (Non-drinkers rejoice: Mocktail tickets are available for a lower price.) Lincoln Park Zoo also revives its own drinker-friendly summer events with craft breweries and wineries posting up on zoo grounds. 'Tequila and Tails' on June 14 and 'Wines and Vines' on Aug. 23, both 6-9 p.m. at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, 31st Street and Golfview Avenue, Brookfield; non-member tickets $105 or $70 for mocktails, 'Craft Brews' on June 28 and 'Summer Wine Fest' on July 25, both 7-10 p.m. at the Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N. Clark St.; admission $57; tickets and more information at Waltz of the flowers: After experiencing the lushness of the Chicago Botanic Gardens in midsummer, step into Nichols Hall for a reprise of 'Superbloom,' the dance work premiered by Chicago company The Seldoms in 2023. For those who can't make the three performances, Art on the Mart has commissioned a video version to be projected in full view of the Riverwalk (Thursdays through Sundays July 10-Sept. 7). July 25-27 at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe; tickets $27-$29 adults. Show times and more information at Museum multiplayer: On your hands and knees, begging your kids to do something besides playing video games all summer? Take them to the American Writers Museum, whose 'Level Up: Writers & Gamers' shines a rare spotlight on the scribes behind their favorite titles. Open through Nov. 2 at the American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Ave., open Thursdays through Mondays 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; admission $10-$16, Home is where the history is: If you haven't yet been to the recently opened National Public Housing Museum in Little Italy, it's high time to fix that. Spend an afternoon exploring its attentively curated exhibitions for free, or, for a small sum, take a guided tour through recreations of real families' units on museum grounds, in the former Jane Addams Homes. 919 S. Ada St., open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays; free admission, $15-$25 apartment tours can be scheduled at
