Gustave Caillebotte was a French painter who was a member and patron of the Impressionists, although he painted in a more realistic manner than many others in the group. Caillebotte was known for his early interest in photography as an art form. Because of his family's wealth, he was a patron of many of his fellow Impressionists. Upon his death, his bequeathed collection of their works became the central collection of Impressionism for the French Republic, despite considerable controversy.