Gustave Courbet was a truly extraordinary artist, with his own notions of what is permissible in art. And this was reflected not only in his work, often very scandalous - just remember his "Origin of the World", a painting that even now is exhibited with care and caution - there is a museum employee constantly on duty next to it - but also in his ordinary life. In this article we will tell you what Gustave Courbet was really like.
Gustave Courbet. Self-portrait. (Desperate Man)
Gustave Courbet was born in the family of a wealthy landowner Régis Courbet. Régis was a man keen, witty, talkative, very energetic, but somewhat superficial. Fascinated by any idea, no matter how ridiculous it was not, Régis applied to it all the forces for its implementation. He would embark on a large-scale project to irrigate his land, or he would personally make hoes and harrows of a special design. But soon he got bored with it all, and gave up halfway through, which is why he gained a reputation in society as an enthusiastic weirdo. But he could boast of his physical strength and beauty, which he generously passed on to his son.
A portrait of the artist's father
But Gustave took his worldview from his grandfather. He was a fierce debater and told his grandson: "shout louder and stand your ground, do not change your views, the worst thing is disorder and vacillation." Courbet words of his grandfather learned firmly and always adhered to his favourite realism, even if he sometimes desperately criticised.
But Courbet did not like to study - all his life he wrote with mistakes and such handwriting, as if he had worked 20 years as a doctor, not an artist. Sometimes because of this got into an awkward situation, over his mistakes in letters and official documents frankly laughed. But Courbet all this did not embarrass, in his opinion, "the rules are invented only for nerds and weaklings. Even he did not like to read, making an exception only for newspapers, where they mentioned him - although, usually only in a negative way, in connection with any scandals, because his vision of art newspapers, in favour of the majority opinion, did not share.
Girls on holiday on the banks of the Seine
Courbet was not too zealous Christian, and once at the age of 11 made a joke about the Archbishop himself. He came on business to the city of Ornan, where in the seminary pulled the student burden of young Gustave and deigned to confess seminarians. Everything went smoothly until Courbet's confession. He initially confessed to the usual childish provinces, but then went to the real atrocities. The priest looked at Courbet with astonishment and fear, but he took out an impressive list of all kinds of sins and was preparing to read it all out. It was good that the archbishop was a sensible man with a sense of humour, and he simply let the repentant "great sinner" go in peace.
The Beautiful Irish Woman (Portrait of Joe)
But relations with the church and religion in Courbet have always been difficult, so he wrote only one painting on a religious subject, and that only because he was desperate for money, and for the painting he was paid a substantial sum of 900 francs.
Courbet was characterised by an exorbitant ego, which partly explains the large number of self-portraits.
Self-portrait with a black dog
He always tried to be the centre of attention, liked to be praised, even if the praise was given to unconcealed flattery. But if no one praised him, Courbet did it himself, saying that he can brilliantly do any job, such as singing or writing poetry. True, everyone who listened to Courbet's vocal exersises said that their only virtue was loudness.
Sleeping
Courbet's paintings have often been the object of harsh criticism, and if with the same "Sleeping" all was understandable, then, to modern eyes, the claims to the painting "Funeral in Ornans" cause only bewilderment.
The funeral at Ornans
"Courbet broke all the rules of art in one painting" - wrote about it. They also criticised the girls resting too freely on the banks of the Seine, accusing them of violating all decency, as if girls should stand still in nature and shamefully lowered their eyes to look at the artist who painted them on his picture.
Bathers
And the painting "Bathers" caused the anger of Napoleon III himself - passing by, he hit her with his cane. And it's not just the nudity, but also the dirty feet of peasant women - Courbet was a true champion of realism, so he painted everything as he saw in reality. Perhaps he was just a little ahead of his time, but one cannot but pay tribute to the artist's talent and his ability to stand his ground against the crowd.
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author of the article Mikhail Fedorin
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