Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet - Self-Portrait (Man with Leather Belt) - WGA05486

Courbet Autoportrait

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Gustave Courbet - La vague - Google Art Project

Gustave Courbet - The Stonebreakers - WGA05457

Gustave Courbet - A Burial at Ornans - Google Art Project 2

Gustave Courbet (1819–1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Courbet is best known for his works that depicted unidealized peasants and workers, often in stark and somber tones. His approach was considered revolutionary, as he challenged the conventional academic painting of his time, focusing instead on subjects drawn from everyday life.

Early Life

Gustave Courbet was born on June 10, 1819, in Ornans, France. He grew up in a prosperous farming family, which afforded him the opportunity to pursue his interest in art from a young age. Courbet went to Paris to study art but eventually rejected the traditional academic path, choosing instead to learn by copying the works of masters in the Louvre.

Career

Courbet's early work was influenced by the Romanticism of the time, but he soon developed his own style, which emphasized the physical reality of the subjects he painted. His first major work, The Stone Breakers (1849), depicted two laborers breaking stones on a road. This painting was a clear departure from the historical and mythological subjects favored by the Academy and was a manifesto of Realism.

In 1855, Courbet's rejection by the Exposition Universelle led him to set up his own exhibition, the Pavillon du Réalisme, near the official exposition. This act of defiance further solidified his role as an outsider in the French art world.

Courbet's other notable works include A Burial at Ornans (1849-50) and The Painter's Studio (1855), both of which further illustrate his commitment to depicting real-life subjects. A Burial at Ornans brought the traditions of history painting to a rural funeral, treating its country folk with a grandeur previously reserved for more noble subjects.

Political Involvement

Courbet was actively involved in the political movements of his time. He was a socialist and took part in the Paris Commune of 1871. After the fall of the Commune, Courbet was imprisoned for six months for his role in the decision to dismantle the Vendôme Column, a symbol of the Napoleonic regime. He was later exiled to Switzerland, where he died in 1877.

Legacy

Gustave Courbet's influence on the development of modern art cannot be overstated. His insistence on painting the "real" as opposed to the "ideal" laid the groundwork for future movements such as Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Courbet's work challenged the established norms and opened the door for artists to explore subjects that were previously considered unworthy of artistic merit.