Caillebotte painting worth €43m acquired by France's Musée d'Orsay

Gustave Caillebotte's impressionist masterpiece, La Partie de Bateau, has been hung for the first time at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Valued at more than 40 million euros, it was acquired thanks to the patronage of the LVMH luxury group.

"I am delighted that this masterpiece will enrich the nation's heritage and can be presented in several cities in France," Culture Minister Rima Abdul-Malak at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris on 30 January.

La Partie de Bateau (A Boating Party) is the only one of Caillebotte's paintings devoted to water sports that has remained in France.

Museum staff have reserved a special place for it on the fifth floor, among the masterpieces of Impressionism. 

"It is one of Caillebotte's major works and we didn't have many, so it is an extraordinary addition to the national collections," said Odile Michel, head of the Musée d'Orsay's art department. 

In 1870, canoeing was very popular on the rivers around Paris and Caillebotte himself was passionate about boating.

But he painted such high society leisure activities in an iconoclastic way.

A Boating Party, produced in 1878, depicts an elegantly dressed man rowing on the river Yerres in the Île-de-France region.

The painting, considered a national treasure, was acquired thanks to the patronage of the LVMH luxury group.

"This is the most important national treasure acquired by the state thanks to sponsorship since this legal category was created in 1993," said Jean-Paul Claverie, advisor to LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault.

The work will also be exhibited in several French museums in 2024 as part of a national celebration of the 150th anniversary of Impressionism.

National treasure

The Ministry of Culture classified the work as a "national treasure" in 2020. The status is granted to cultural property of major importance to the national heritage – whether from a history, art or archaeology perspective – and offers special protection, particularly with regard to exports.

Caillebotte (1848-1894) came from a wealthy background and was able to devote himself to painting without worrying about money. He became a millionaire patron of other artists, and friends, such as Renoir and Monet.

On his death at the age of 45, he left some 500 personal works and a collection of Renoir, Monet, Manet and Cézanne, which he donated to the French state.

Another of his works,Young Man at his Window, despite its national treasure status, was purchased in November 2021 for 48.9 million euros by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.