Talk:Les Orangers

A fact from Les Orangers appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 10 October 2012 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that the painting Les orangers by Gustave Caillebotte depicts his brother in the same outfit that Gustave was shown wearing in a painting by Renoir?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2012/October.

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Question

There is very little mixing of these zones, a departure from similar outdoor scenes by other impressionists.

I don't have a clue what this means. I presume that "zones" is being used to mean the bright area and the shadowed area. If this is the case, I don't know how they can be "mixed". In fact, the bright area is divided by areas of shadow. You given two references. Can you please quote on this page exactly what the sources ay, and how they described the treatment of light and shade as being "a departure from similar outdoor scenes by other impressionists".

I'm also really curious about the statement concerning the men's clothing. Dark grey trousers were the norm. A light grey, white or linen jacket was the normal casual summer wear, a hat was obligatory and for outdoor entertainment would normally be straw. Is one man really wearing the other man's clothing as implied, or do they both have similar outfits for hot afternoons, as would hundreds of other men?

Amandajm (talk) 10:54, 10 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I think the intended meaning was probably "He is dressed in the same way as Gustave .." so have changed to that. But as to the true significance of this, I'm not very sure. So unless a source can support, it may be better to remove this observation altogether? Martinevans123 (talk) 18:52, 10 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The "mixing of these zones" refers to the lack of sunlight in in the shadows and vice versa. Varnedoe:

"In contrast to the complexly mottled effects of light in the Monet and Renoir works, however, Caillebotte's garden scene is reductively simplified... The opposition of evenly shaded coolness and shadowless brightness, as opposed to their co-mingling, underlines the sense of afternoon heat"

Herbert:

"The odd perspective and the color contrasts of Caillebotte's painting contribute to its strange aspect. The bottom half is dominated by purples that form a very separate realm from the intense greens and orange-reds above. Nothing here of Morisot's interwoven hues nor of Manet's unifying balance of warm and cool tones."

Regarding the clothing, I'm no expert (any sight of me picking my outfit in the morning is ample evidence of that). But I don't recall any other figures similarly attired in my brief research. I chose to include it because of the connection it draws between the brothers in different settings by different artists. This was also noted in Herbert.

Thanks for the feedback; I hope this helps. Cmprince (talk) 22:30, 10 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I am intrigued. What does Herbert say? and on which page does he say it?! Martinevans123 (talk) 22:34, 10 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

"mixing of these zones" is a really awkward way of expressing it it. Keep it simple. Just say something like: Unlike similar outdoor paintings by other Impressionist painters, there is no dappled light and shade."

Amandajm (talk) 02:52, 11 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]