Gustave Courbet

“Fine art is knowledge made visible.”

Jean Desire Gustave Courbet had led the realist movement in French painting. He was committed to painting only what he could see, and this independence was very important for later cubists and impressionists painters. He was a painter of landscapes and seascapes, and also addressed the grave conditions of the poor and peasantry. Courbet painted a series of erotic works towards the end of his career, and many of these were banned from the public. This only helped to increase his notoriety. In 1870 he created a “federation of artists” for the uncensored and free expansion of art. He had over ten paintings accepted by the jury of the 1855 salon. However, his one painting The Artists Studio was rejected because of its size (four by six meters) and it expressed his political and artistic choices that many didn’t agree with. This prompted him to create a personal exhibition near the Universal exhibition. It was hosted in a building that he had built at his own expense and called “The Pavilion of Realism”.

“To create living art, that is my goal.”