"Chicago Street; Rainy Night"

       In my oil painting, “Chicago Street; Rainy Night”, I chose to parody Gustave Caillebotte’s 1800’s impressionistic masterpiece, “Paris Street; Rainy Day” as a dichotomy not only to the time of day, but also, to the mystery of time itself. Through Caillebotte’s masterful composition, I bring you into the painting and lead your eye around the image. As you move throughout the painting you will discover relevance to several of the iconic masterpieces found at the Art Institute of Chicago. At street level and to the right, a crowd has begun to gather in front of George Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon”. Apparently some of the characters have vanished from the image and made their escape to rainy streets of Chicago. The American fast food chain McDonalds’, the very antithesis of fine French cuisine, serves as a museum of sorts to house the great masterpieces.  On the First floor Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” has brought nocturnal ambiance and solitude to the all night café. “At the Moulin Rouge” by Henri Toulouse-Lautec (Shorty) has found a new home among the modern day patrons as they party the night away on the second floor of the establishment. The third floor windows reveal Mary Cassatt’s painting “The Child’s Bath”, Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”, Edgar Degas’ “The Dancer” and a self portrait by Vincent Van Gogh. One of Claude Monet’s Haystack Series can also be found next to a strong reflection from a street lamp, a fitting placement to show his devotion to light and atmosphere. Lastly I incorporated Picasso's "The Old Guitarist" as part of the brightly lit modern facade.

     The entire concept originated from a recent visit to Chicago at Christmas time. Together, with my daughter, Madison, my brother, Ed and his wife, Mary, we had dreamed of a white Christmas in Chicago but what we got was a cold wet rain. We visited the Art Institute of Chicago, attended a concert at the Chicago Theater featuring the group Train, Ed Sheeran and Karmin. Later, we took in the holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens at the Goodman Theater. It was a wonderful time with family and I decided I wanted to put everything we did in those short few days into one memorable painting. While standing before Caillebotte’s masterpiece my daughter had made the comment, “I feel as though I could walk right into this painting.”   So I thought quietly to myself…“I can probably arrange that”…so here it is, Madison and her aunt, Mary, walking right into the thick of it…I hope you like it.

                                                                                                 -Fred Carrow