Susan Stamberg reports on painter Gustave Caillebotte's paintings of Napoleon III's 'modern' Paris. Unlike his contemporaries Stamberg reports that Caillebotte's paintings mourn the loss of the old Paris and the rise of the modern city. She also discusses Caillebotte's important role as a patron of impressionist painters including Monet and Renoir. His "art collection became what today is the crux of the Impressionist holdings at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris."

The exhibition The Caillebotte Brothers' Private World is on view until July 11, 2011 at the Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris.