Gustave Caillebotte's Young Man at his Window captures a candid scene at the height of summer in 1875. A relaxed, comfortable-looking young man (Gustave's brother, René) stands at the window of his Paris apartment, framed and dwarfed by a stone column, iron balcony railing, and thin wooden balustrade. He wears informal clothes and stands with his hands in his pockets—yet he could just as easily be dressed in the finest suit and tie.
There are two ways to view Caillebotte's painting. The first is a man looking out his window at his surroundings. The second is a man peering over the city, a bit like a bird's eye view. Both interpretations are valid and result in different feelings. I hope you take the time to explore his painting each way because you might come away thinking differently about it each time.
