Biography of Gustave Courbet
31 December 1877
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was born on 10 June 1819 Ornans, in the Doubs département, in France, a descendant of a family of farmers. Pushed by their parents to study law, in 1839 he moved to Paris, where he devoted himself to painting and in particular to the study of French, Spanish and Flemish artists, of which performs numerous copies.
The study of the real
Gustave Courbet Manufactures, among other things, a "Odalisque" inspired by the works of Victor Hugo, then create an illustration for "Lélia", a novel by George Sand. Soon, however, he abandoned the literary sources of inspiration to focus on real life. This conviction is strengthened by a journey made in 1847 in the Netherlands, where they have the opportunity to get in touch with Hals and Rembrandt. In 1848 Courbet assists at a funeral of a great uncle who was later transposed in the opera "burial at Ornans": the canvas, depicting the funeral service, represents a masterpiece of realist style; to complete it, Gustave Courbet uses as models people attending the event. The painting gives rise to a very lively debate not only among critics but also in public, in part because so much imposing size (3.1 meters by 6.6 meters) up to that point had been the sole reserve of subjects representative of Royal families or religious figures.The proposed changes by Gustave Courbet
The criticism, then, begins to applaud the painter of Ornans, which immediately shows aware of the changes that is making the art world (coming to claim that the "burial at Ornans" is paid the funeral of romanticism). While the public is interested and is getting closer to its realistic approach, which contributes to the gradual decay of romanticism, Courbet is dedicated to "after dinner at Ornans", by which he was awarded a medal from the Paris Salon, who some time ago had rejected two of his self-portraits (one with a pipe in his mouth, the other with his dog). At that period was the "Loire Valley"; in 1850, always at the Salon, Courbet gets considerable success, as well as for merit of "burial at Ornans," thanks to "The Stonecutter" and "the farmers of Flagey." Over the next few years, deals with "the girls" and "the wrestler", figurative nature paintings that represents ordinary people, as happens in "the bathers".In the world of politics
Meanwhile, in addition to devote himself to art, he even comes close to politics, embracing the ideology of anarchism and spreading Democratic Socialist ideals and even exploiting its fame. In 1855, Courbet exposes to the public "the Studio of the painter", a monumental work that allegorizes his existence as an artist and featured Charles Baudelaire. In the second half of the 1960s Courbet is dedicated to various works of erotic nature, including "Femme nue couchée"; in 1866, also see the light "Jo, la belle irlandaise", "woman with a parrot" and the famous "L'origine du monde" (the origin of the world), which depicted the female genital organ, while "Sleeping" depicts two women embrace on a bed without clothes. Both "L'origine du monde" and "Sleep", although they can not be exposed in public without specific permission, help to increase the popularity of the painter, who on 14 April 1870 she founded the Federation of artists, attended by, among others, André Gill, Honoré Daumier, Jules Dalou, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Edouard Manet and Eugène Pottier. Courbet later refuses to receive the Medal of the Legion of honor was bestowed by Napoleon III, and for this reason it becomes a Paladin of the opponents of the Napoleonic regime. So, in 1871, at the time of the Paris commune to the Government, Courbet was chosen to lead the French capital's museums, which have to contend with attempts to plunder the people in revolt. In September of that year, he was sentenced to six months in prison by the court martial of Versailles, as responsible for the destruction of the column of the Grande Armée in Place Vendome: actually, his only "fault" had been that of wanting to enforce the Municipal decree which sanctioned the removal. Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet died on 31 December 1877 in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland, at the age of fifty-eight, due to the consequences of cirrhosis of the liver affecting (due to his propensity to drink): his body is buried in the cemetery of Ornans.Article contributed by the team of collaborators.