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Gustave Courbet
(1819-1877)
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The Grain
Sifters
Self-Portrait with Black Dog
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Gustave Courbet
was the founder of what is known as the French school of
Realism. Born into a wealthy farming family, he went to
Paris to study law but finally decided to study art.
Realism was a reaction to Romanticism and sought to show
life as it really was, rather than romanticized idealist
visions.
Gustave was determined in his art to portray ordinary
places and people. He was a socialist and did not want
to shy away from showing how life really was for some of
the peasant population. He believed that art had a
social and political role to play. He thought it could
help eradicate social imbalances and make people aware
of the injustices in Society. Later on in life his
socialist leanings were to bring him a lot of trouble.
His first two paintings dealt with Literary subjects,
but he quickly moved onto what he believed to be his
true calling in art, painting life as it really was. He
painted landscapes, portraits, nudes and still life as
well as a number of seascapes. His first canvas to be
accepted by the Salon was a self-portrait entitled
‘Courbet with a Black dog’.
A trip to the Netherlands in 1847 to see some paintings
by the Masters there, only served to instill in him a
determination to show the reality of everyday life. He
admired greatly the works of Rembrandt, Hal and the
other Dutch Masters. |
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Pierre Joseph Proudhon et Ses Enfants
en 1853
Portrait of Countess Karoly, 1865
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Two separate visits to
visit his family in Ornans served as inspiration for two
of his masterpieces. The first painting produced in 1849
is entitled ‘The Stone-Breakers’ and the second in 1850
entitled ‘Burial at Ornans’ depicts what he saw at his
Great Uncle’s Funeral in Ornans. The people at the
funeral were used as his models and this was a new
technique in painting of the day which caused some
controversy at the time. His style which showed people
in everyday situations such as at work or at funerals
contrasted greatly with the style of Romantic painters
such as Eugene Delacroix.
Speaking about his painting, ‘The Burial at Ornans,’ he
said, ‘the Burial at Ornans was in reality the burial of
Romanticism’. |
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The Burial at Ornans, 1849-1850
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He frequently returned
to Ornans where the peasant community was an inspiration
for his art.
Gustave Courbet was a rebel, and in 1855 when a huge
canvas entitled ‘The Artist’s Studio’ was refused for an
important exhibition, he boldly arranged for it to be
displayed himself. |
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The Artist's Studio, 1855
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His politics were
intrinsically related to his art and in 1850 whilst
speaking of his art he said, "... in our so very
civilized society it is necessary for me to live the
life of a savage. I must be free of even governments.
The people have my sympathies; I must address myself to
them directly."
Towards the end of the 1860s he painted a series of
erotic paintings, including one of two women in bed
together. They caused an outcry and were banned from
public display.
He refused the Legion of Honour which was offered to him
by Napoleon III and immediately won the popular support
of those that were opposed to the Government of the day.
Under the revolutionary Paris Commune he was put in
charge of the art museums of Paris and saved them from
being looted. However, after the fall of the Commune he
was arrested and accused of the destruction of the
Vendome Column, a French monument. He was imprisoned for
six months and afterwards was given a huge fine to cover
the reconstruction of the column. He was unable to pay
the fine and fled to Switzerland where he later died
from liver disease, related to alcohol consumption.
He is the undisputed French master of the Realist school
and as such his paintings are worth a great deal of
money. A painting of his was entitled ‘La Belle
Irlandaise’ sold in Sotheby’s in 1998 for nearly
$3,000,000. |
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La Belle Irlandaise, 1865 |
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