Description
Courbet (1819-1877) was the bad boy of the Realist movement. A rebel who rejected traditional academic practice, Courbet insisted he could paint only what he could see. No centaurs or angels for Courbet. Courbet also painted in a rough fashion, using a palette knife to apply paint instead of a brush. He painted pictures of peasants on the scale of history paintings, another offense to the art establishment. He painted portraits, landscapes, still lifes and genre scenes. His only history paintings were scenes of his own time and place. A dissident by nature, Courbet will repeatedly offend artistic norms in the 1840s, 1850s and 1860s. In the Paris Commune, Courbet will involve himself in politics, which will result in a 6 month jail term and self-imposed exile in Switzerland upon his release. Courbet’s realism and his rebellious stand against the art establishment will be an inspiration to the next generation of French painters: the Impressionists. 2019 is the bicentenary of Courbet’s birth.
