Search:: Artists Alphabetically Artists by Country Artists by Century Artists by Movement
Gustave Courbet
1819-1877
French Realist Painter
One of the Greatest Painters Of All Time
Artistically and stylistically influenced by the following painters; Francisco de Goya, Franz Hals, Rembrandt, and Meindert Hobbema
Education - Royal College in Besançon
Cause of Death - Dropsy, he was also afflicted with excruciating hemorrhoids in his latter years.
Courbet grew up in the French countryside, the son of a upper middleclass bourgeoisie family. His parents doted on young Gustav and hoped he would study law or become a doctor. Once the young artist moved to Paris he disdained his parents lifestyle and rented a small studio to live and work amongst the poor. Sometimes he even slept in doorways to feel a camaraderie with the homeless. When he became desperate for money his family usually sent enough to keep him going
From his earliest days Courbet emerged as a truly original voice in the art world. He used his brilliant talent to make bold social commentary on poverty and injustice. The young painter lived the life of a true bohemian and rabble-rouser. Courbet asserted "I hope to live all my life for my art, without abandoning my principles one iota, without . . . having painted as much as you can cover with your hand, to please somebody or in order to sell the picture more easily."
Courbet cutting edge realist style was revolutionary for the times. Parisian critics scoffed at his paintings and declared his an outcast. Some of his paintings caused scandals and threats of violence. W. C. Brownell states "It is easy to say he had all the coarseness without the sentiment of the French peasantry, whence he sprang; that his political radicalism attests a lack of the serenity of spirit indispensable to the sincere artist; that he had no conception of the beautiful, the exquisite—the fact remains that he triumphs over all his deficiencies, and in very splendid fashion. He is, in truth, of all the realists for whom he discovered the way, and set the pace, as it were, one of the two naturalistic painters who have shown in any high degree the supreme artistic faculty—that of generalization. However impressive Manet's picture may be; however brilliant Monet's endeavor to reproduce sunlight may seem; however refined and elegant Degas's delicate selection of pictorial material—for broad and masterful generalization, for enduing what he painted with an interest deeper than its surface and underlying its aspect.
Gustave Courbet
Quotations
I have studied the art
of the masters and the
art of the moderns,
avoiding any
preconceived system and
without prejudice. --
Gustave Courbet Quote
France is the only
nation in which
astoundingly small
numbers of civilized
patrons reside. --
Gustave Courbet Quote
Fine art is
knowledge made visible.
-- Gustave Courbet Quote
The expression of beauty
is in direct ratio to
the power of conception
the artist has acquired.
-- Gustave Courbet Quote
Painting is the
representation of
visible forms. . . The
essence of realism is
its negation of the
ideal. -- Gustave
Courbet Quote
When we see men of
worth, we should think
of equaling them; when
we see men of a contrary
character, we should
turn inward and examine
ourselves. -- Gustave
Courbet Quote
I am not one who was
born in the custody of
wisdom; I am one who is
fond of olden times and
intense in quest of the
sacred knowing of the
ancients. -- Gustave
Courbet Quote
Painting is an
essentially concrete art
and can only consist of
the representation of
real and existing things
. . . an object which is
abstract, not visible,
non-existent, is not
within the realm of
painting. -- Gustave
Courbet Quote
The beautiful is in
nature, and it is
encountered under the
most diverse forms of
reality. Once it is
found it belongs to art,
or rather to the artist
who discovers it. --
Gustave Courbet Quote
☼☼☼☼☼
Key Descriptive Words and Phrases associated with the Realist painting- revolution, poverty, social realist, figurative compositions, landscapes, seascapes, still-lifes, social issues, vulgar, rural bourgeoisie, peasants, Classical Realism, Fantastic Realism, Social Realism, Heroic Realism, Photorealism, Realist, narrative
☼☼☼☼☼
Require more facts and information about famous realist painters like Gustav Courbet? Look around every nook and cranny of the known universe for information this subject. Search Here
If you feel you have worthwhile information you would like to contribute we would love to hear from you. We collect essential biographical information and artist quotes from folks all over the globe and appreciate your participation. When submitting please, if possible, site the source and provide English translation. Please submit your comment to the editor, via e-mail and if possible site the source. Thank you!
copyright 20003 - historyofpainters.com
© HistoryofPainters.com If you like this page and wish to share
it, you are welcome to link to it, with our thanks.
References - French Art
by W. C. Brownell