Rainy Days in Paris, 209x300 cm, oil on canvas, 1877, held at the Art Institute of Chicago, USA. This depiction of continuous rain in Paris is Gaillebotte’s most representative work, inspired by his friend Renoir’s painting Umbrellas (a comparison would be worthwhile). However, Gaillebotte was more modern than his Impressionist peers, particularly in portraying the modernity and daily life details of Parisians. Here, Gaillebotte chose the most modern high-end Haussmann-style commercial district of Paris at the time (where he lived) as the backdrop for their busy lives.

On these damp, cobblestone streets stretching in all directions, pedestrians stroll with umbrellas through the misty, wet scenes, creating a theatrical stage for modern Parisian life. The entire composition is clearly divided into two halves by the central streetlamp. Under the drizzle, a couple or lovers holding an umbrella cross paths with approaching pedestrians slightly to the right of the center, while other umbrella-holding figures dot the left side of the road. Through the geometric perspective of Haussmann architecture, combined with an extraordinary photographic structure and a remarkable palette of gray-blue tones dominated by grays and blacks, Gaillebotte poetically pioneered the unique Impressionist interplay of light, shadow, and atmosphere in the misty rain.