Artist Courbet Gustave: Life and Creativity

Courbet Gustave (1819-1877) - an artist with considerable talent, almost self-taught. He consciously abandoned the academic style in painting and became the ancestor of realism, which in later art turned into direct naturalism. Conceived by adversity Gustave Courbet, whose photo (above) was made in the last years of his life, looks like a thoughtful man who does not try to seem better than he is.

Childhood

Courbet Gustave was born in a small town (according to our standards in the village) with a population of three thousand people, in Ornan, near Switzerland. Father dreamed that his son would be a lawyer, so he sent him in 1837 to study at King's College in Besançon, near his home. At his own discretion Courbet Gustave begins painting classes under the guidance of a disciple of David.

Paris

At twenty, the young man is sent to the capital to ostensibly deepen his knowledge of law. But really he visits the Louvre and art workshops, in which, as he decided for himself, he has nothing to do. But in one of the workshops he lingered: there they were taught to draw nudity.

Exhibition

At the first exhibition in the Salon Courbet, Gustave presented his self-portrait with a dog. It already shows the independent handwriting of a still romantic artist who is looking for his own way. A free, proud, independent young man is depicted in a grotto of wild rocks. With calm arrogance, he looks directly at the viewer. The eye is located approximately on the line of the golden section, so that the viewer can not tear himself away from it. This method was repeatedly and unsuccessfully borrowed by Leonardo's artists. Here, too, was not quite conceived. But the sad and calm spaniel, and the golden brown festive color, and the barely visible landscape in the depth of the picture are also good. The rest of the artist's work in the Salon was not accepted.

Painting and politics

Paris has always been a politicized city. He was full of boiling in the thirties and forties, and the revolution of 1848 attracted Courbet too. He and his friends founded a socialist club and created the emblem of the people. But Gustave did not go to the barricades. By this time the artist had already visited Holland and brought a clear desire to completely break with romanticism. Having created a series of canvases on the basis of the new concept, Gustave Courbet, whose works had previously simply been rejected, in 1849 exhibited 7 paintings in the Salon. Then, for the first time, the word "realism" was voiced, and one of the works, "Afternoon in Ornan", received the second gold medal.

"Funeral in Ornan" (1849)

This large-scale canvas, measuring more than three meters in length and more than half a meter tall, was painted by artist Gustave Courbet to one of his grandfathers. The figures on the canvas are made almost in natural sizes. All the townspeople tried to get on the picture-epic. It depicts singers, and the cure, and the mayor of the city, and residents in black mourning clothes. Color accents are made on the white and red robes of the servants of the church. Impressive is also the highly exalted above the standing people crucifix in the background. The plot is very prosaic, but in this canvas are interesting images of people who created Courbet, rising to generalizations. Focusing all the attention on the funeral process, and not on deeds of the deceased or on the posthumous existence of the soul, the painter proved to be a complete realist.

In Paris, they did not understand why it was necessary to create such a monumental picture from a conventional funeral, and even with a planar composition. At the World Exhibition in 1855, it is not accepted, although the jury selected eleven works of Courbet for her. But they do not take to the exhibition the painting "Atelier", in which Courbet expresses his artistic principles. Then full of indignation the artist arranges his own exhibition, which consists of 40 paintings. He publishes the "Manifesto of Realism," and to him as a master adjoins all who preach realism in painting. This causes a scandal in society.

"Veyalschitsy" (1854)

It is known that they posed for this picture of Courbet, reflecting the heavy peasant labor, his two sisters and a familiar child. The picture received a cheerful sound due to the golden color and bright red dress of the girl standing in the center of the composition and immediately attracting attention. A pretty red-haired cat sleeps next to a dozing girl in gray, reviving the atmosphere of an already majeure. It is unclear just why the closing chest-chest is painted, near which the boy is.

"Pergola" (1862)

This picture shows another Courbet, who can admire women's beauty, comparing it with the lush flowering of rose-curled roses. Clearly on the golden section there passes the line of the composition, the main part of which is occupied by white, orange, red flowers. The silhouette of a girl standing in profile is raised with raised hands to the very top of the grate. White translucent sleeves and a white collar are in harmony with the nearby flowers, and the dress in tone matches the shadows under the left hand and the shaded foliage on the left side of the picture. Here Courbet showed himself as a subtle colorist.

"The Origin of the World" (1866)

I do not want to dwell on this work for a long time. She is too unpleasant for a person with a healthy psyche, not inclined to peek at a person in the most intimate moments of his life. The picture shows a woman's torso without a face. Before the viewer close-up, an open vulva of the unknown is depicted. Here is one of the models suggested by the researchers for the painting "The Origin of the World" (Gustave Courbet), a photo of which is presented here. This picture will be enjoyed only by a voyeur, who gets satisfaction when he sees the sex organs of a man of the opposite sex and nothing more. A healthy person does not need this, and you do not want to consider this opus . I just want to quickly forget such nastiness.

During this period, Courbet creates many erotic paintings, among which stand out with special frankness "Sleeping". This naturalism causes condemnation of the circle of both ordinary people and people with names. But Proudhon remains his ardent adherent, whose portrait he wrote.

The Wave (1870)

This landscape is considered a masterpiece of Courbet. The canvas was almost half-and-half given to the sky and the sea. Clouds tightly closed the heavens. Their shades poured from greyish-green to lilac-pink and shake with their beauty. The color of the waves also plays with all the tones of green, creating a variety of deep color effects. It perfectly conveys the power of natural forces. The artist was captured by this theme and wrote a series of works, which depict various views of Etretat and its turbulent restless sea.

In 1871 a highly politicized artist took an active part in the actions of the Paris Commune. After the suppression of the uprising, he was charged with the overthrow of the Vendome column. After that, Courbet was in prison, and he was sentenced to pay a colossal fine. He fled to Switzerland, where he died in complete poverty.

Causes very mixed reactions as a person and artist Gustave Courbet, whose work still does not leave people indifferent today. This speaks of the undoubted talent and strong personality of this painter.