The Pre-Impressionist Reality of Gustave Colin To look at the work of Gustave Colin is to witness a specific, unvarnished moment in French painting where the influence of Camille Corot met the rising tide of Impressionism. He was not a radical, but a participant. While history often focuses on the rebels of 1874, Colin’s presence in that first Impressionist exhibition proves he occupied the vital, messy middle ground between tradition and the new age. He brought five oil paintings to that landmark event, including Haurra-Maria and The Charpentier House, works that captured a transition in li…