Rooftops in the Snow

Rooftops, even when bedecked in snow, are not a very popular subject in art. By showing us the view from his Paris balcony, Caillebotte invites us to share his unusual perspective on the modern city. The painter, whose interest in photography is well-documented, may well have been inspired by specific photographs: The earliest surviving camera photograph, taken circa 1826 by Nicéphore Niépce, also shows the rooftops of buildings in France — in that case, those of the village of Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, in Bourgogne.