Because as Pach says in Renoir that “he loved to include his friends in his canvases” it is not surprising that Caillebotte is a part of Renoir’s Oarsmen at Chateau. Rowing was a favorite pastime of Caillebotte and this painting shows him standing among others on the far left straddling the boat about to go for a row. This painting however seems to contradict what Caillebotte tries to relate about loneliness in his perissoire paintings. He is surrounded by others whom he is going to join in rowing. There are, however, signs that show that Caillebotte is not a part of the group of people. There is, first of all, a sense of detachment among the group. Each person seems to be looking away from each other. The woman is turning away from everybody, while the man in the boat looks over to the people on shore and the man standing on shore to the right is looking off into the distance. Nobody is actually making eye contact. With this sort of detachment Caillebotte, as well as the other people in this group, seem to be alone and separated from the others.
Secondly, the way Caillebotte’s face is painted in a blurry and vague way makes him seem perplexing yet inaccessible. Caillebotte’s undefined features in this painting cause him to seem distant from everyone else. He is the only one whose facial features are very muddy and unclear.
This painting shows Caillebotte’s isolation, just as Caillebotte did himself in his perissoire paintings. Oarsmen at Chateau, however, shows the portrayal of Caillebotte by another person and artist. Not only did Caillebotte feel a sense of separation, but other people perceived his loneliness as well. Solitude was a quality that those around Caillebotte characterized him as having.
Oarsmen at Chateau. National Gallery of Art. Washington D.C. 1879.