Lillà e peonie in due vasi

In 1881 Caillebotte bought a property at Petit-Gennevilliers, on the Seine downstream from Paris, and laid out a flower garden there with a greenhouse for orchids. Monet had done something similar at Vetheuil and Caillebotte followed him. Over the years that came after he painted about 25 still lifes using nothing but what he grew. This one is dated 1883 and sets lilac and peonies in two vases on a patterned cloth. The Museum Barberini in Potsdam, which owns it, notes that the cloth is laid in with broad loaded strokes while the turquoise vase in front is modelled far more carefully. By the end of the decade he had left Paris for Gennevilliers altogether, and spent much of his time on the garden, on sailing, and on designing racing boats.