Realism
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Gustave Courbet
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| When: |
1819-1877 |
| Where: |
France |
| What: |
“I have never seen angels. Show me an
angel and I will paint one.”
“Everything that does not appear on the retina is outside
the domain of painting.” |
| What: |
Subject:
- Daily scenes
- the working class.
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Brushwork:
Loose
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| What: |
The Meeting, or "Bonjour Monsieur Courbet"
1854
Oil on canvas
129 x 149 cm
Musee Fabre, Montpellier |
The subject is just a simple every scene here. Nothing
of historical or religious value. Courbet only wanted to
paint what happened to him at a meeting with some friends
on a path.
The brushwork is loose. The painting is also of a size that
is not common among works with genre themes.
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| What: |
Stonebreakers
1849
Oil on canvas. Destroyed during World War II; formerly Dresden,
Gemäldegalerie |
Courbet was said to have met these workers on the road and
asked them to pose for him in the studio. He broke the conventions
at that time by painting them life size - a scale that is
reserved for religious/historical paintings. As a result,
he gave manual work of labourers an eternity in painting.
The workers do not confront the viewer face on, but rather
are working with their backs to us in concentrated indifference.
The differences in the men's ages is also significant: one
is too old for heavy labor and one is far too young.
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| What: |
The Painter's Studio; A Real Allegory
1855
Oil on canvas
361 x 598 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris |
This painting represents the emotional and spiritual
state of the artist when making art. On right side are
representatives of the art world - buyers and writers.
On the left side is common people, the destitute, the poor,
the wealthy, the exploited, the exploiters.working class that
inspired his realist portraits. The focus is on the artist:
he is the pivotal center of the painting and is illuminated
to stand out against the shadowed crowds on either side of him.
The artist's inner world represented by the two figures, a nude
model and a small child, who is perhaps Courbet as a young boy
- they may represent the 2 guilding principle of an artist Truth
(Nude) and Nature (Boy) - the artist hence need to strike a
balance between these two as well as painting what he wanted
and what others wanted him to paint. |
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| Other Realists: |
Daumier
The Third-Class Carraige
1863-65
Oil on canvas
65.4 x 90.2 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
Millet
The Sower
1850
102 x 83 cm |
Millet
The Angelus
1857-59
Oil on canvas
55.5 x 66 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris |
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