Gustave Courbet Gallery
Black chalk
62.3 x 46 cm
90.GB.134
"To paint human beings, and paint them well--that's the really difficult thing," said Gustave Courbet. His corpulent women shocked his critics, who were accustomed to less earthy depictions of the female form.
Though Courbet painted many female nudes, only two of his drawings of this subject survive. For this composition, Courbet modified the traditional academic nude study, the académie, into a more ordinary, less classically refined figure. He depicted a modern woman, but her classical pose and his sensitive modulation of form and careful rendering of flesh tones recall his study of the Old Masters in the Musée du Louvre.
Courbet made this drawing for a friend who remains unidentified. His inscription-- Mon Vieux, C'en est une qu'on enverra à Sainte Beuve s'il nous embête! Gustave Ct. 28 Avril 49 (Old man, here's one to send Sainte Beuve if he gives us a hard time!)--refers to literary historian and critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve, who was known for his conservative opinions. The words Les Debats at the woman's elbow probably refer to Le Journal des Débats, which published arts criticism.
viewer |
|
|
| Porteuses de Fagots |
| Grotto of Sarrazine |
Standing Female Nude |
| Bohemienne et ses Enfants |
| Rock at Bayard, Dinart |
| Reclining Woman |
| Woman with a Parrot |
Biography
Bulletin Board
Renowned Art
(home)
all artists, with thumbnails: by birth year | alphabetically
all artists: by birth year | alphabetically
artists born in the 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th century