2/10/06 - History of Art - Gustave Courbet: The Art of Playing Politics

Painter of realism. "I will never paint an angel because I will never see one." Rejected neo-classicism and romanticism.

Eastern France, born in small agricultural town with farmers for parents.

Self-portraits. Desperate Man and Wounded Man. Light/dark contrasts. Extremity of mood, self-image - Romantic views. By 1850-51 considered brilliant artist/dangerous man.

1830-1848 Louis Philippe. French revolution, Philippe exiled.

France slow to industrialise, blame put on monarchy. Provoked by middle classes. Previous year bad harvest. High bread prices. Working people inclined to revolution. Middle classes wanted independence. Monarchy replaced by second republic. Counter revolution four months later - middle classes against working classes.

Courbet picked up by revolution. Met people with strong opinions, Baudelaire. Courbet had mixed interests for new impetus. Avant-garde identity. Bonrin, a painter. Images of ordinary people.

Courbet's self-image changed. Man with Pipe. Presents himself as the man of the people. Posing? In 1849 After Dinner shown at Salon. Bought by state. Life-size figures. His own life and family. Rural life. Genre painting. Critics said it was 'overblown', should use this size only in history paintings.

Next Salon, Courbet exhibited The Peasants of Ornans Returning from the Fair. Deliberately clumsy. Lumpen quality of foreground figure. Coarse palette. The Burial at Ornans. The Stone Breakers. Large paintings. Real life pictures. Autobiographical images. Courbet showed them several times. Equivocal reactions from different places.

Aesthetic factors? Canvas too large for genre painting. No moral in the picture. Treated as history painting. Rough style. Sombre colour. No clear structure or composition. Focal point?

Political factors? Social issues. No hierarchy. Shouldn't priest be more significant? Focal point? Social structure? It is ambiguous, suggesting social confusion. No class. In Paris reaction was hostile due to fear of social issues.

Aesthetic debate started by Courbet.

Myer. Rough, sensual. Admired paintings. The Sower was not accepted like The Willower due to state of politics being questioned. Depicts peasant, but powerful. Critics said "A vicious looking labourer." But his face is shadowed! Myer did not reject tradition as much as Courbet.

Pictures can be read in ways the artist does not intend, e.g. The Sower.

In 1851 second republic fell. Emperor Napoleon III.
Courbet Mademoiselles of the Village. Attacked by critics for country girls depicted instead of higher class.

Bonjour M. Courbet. Autobiography; pleased with himself. Bruyas friend of Courbet. He wanted to support artist interested in social change. Painter usually subservient to patron. But depicted in painting as equals.

Courbet refused exhibition of others, made his own. Artistic independence. Second empire wanted to diffuse Courbet.

1855 exhibition. The Artist's Studio: A Real Allegory of Seven Years of my Artistic Life. Himself, again! Child, innocent viewer. Nude woman, inspiration. Self-conscious. His friends, his subjects.

'Realism' loose term. Not a 'real' allegory. Courbet uses this for his purposes.

Monday, moral tales. Genre paintings, small-scale. Traditional.

The Fire. Picturesque. Dramatic.

Politics. His work more accepted, but he tamed his works also.
Political friends, Proudhon. "Property is theft."

The Oak. Anti-imperial.

Painted political paintings. Return from the Meeting. Drunken priests. Bought by Catholic, who burned it.

The Beggar's Arms.

Successful in Europe.

In 1870 second empire fell. Spring 1871, Paris commune.

Third republic until June 1940.

Courbet involved in Paris commune 1870, Vendome Column pulled down. Courbet supposedly to blame. He was arrested, fined, exiled.

Journalist cricitism.

Self-portrait in prison. Still life of trout - realism. Allegory of himself? Reeled in?

Courbet important, showed boundaries could be broken, had public image, leftist, anti-establishment, promoted his position. Artist of his time, no ties to commission, manipulated himself and art for art market. Political artist.