Rainy Day, Chicago, With Caillebotte

A masterpiece celebrating the rise of one great modern city found its home in another.

Caillebotte, Gustave. “Paris Street, Rainy Day,” 1877. Art Institute of Chicago. Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection. Image in public domain. Thanks to the Art Institute.

It felt like passing by a friend at a party, pausing only long enough to say you’d circle back soon.

I’d taken a taken a cheap flight from Washington, D.C., to see the “Remedios Varo: Science Fictions” show at the Art Institute of…