Sale of paintings by Gustave Courbet on request

Gustave Courbet was born on 10 June 1819 in Ornans, in the Doubs region. The son of a prosperous farmer, his childhood in Franche-Comté had a profound influence on his work. In 1839, driven by a burning passion for painting, he went to Paris. Although enrolled at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, he opted for self-taught training, spending long hours at the Louvre studying masters such as Velázquez and Rembrandt. In Paris, he forged links with some of the leading figures of the time, notably the poet Charles Baudelaire. He also rubbed shoulders with other artists, such as Camille Corot and Eugène Delacroix, although his artistic approach often diverged from theirs. Courbet, with his unique vision, quickly moved away from academic conventions to embrace a bold realism, influenced by his rural origins and the artistic dynamics of Paris.

Realism, a movement with which Courbet is closely associated, seeks to represent the world objectively, without embellishment or dramatisation. Realists, like Courbet and Hopper, focused on everyday subjects, often highlighting the working classes and rural landscapes. They rejected the traditional themes of mythology, history or religion, preferring scenes from contemporary life.

Courbet excelled in several genres of painting. His portraits are intense and captivating, revealing the depth and complexity of his subjects. His landscapes, often inspired by his native Franche-Comté region, are vibrant and detailed, capturing the raw beauty of nature. But it was perhaps in his genre scenes, depicting the everyday life of ordinary people, that Courbet shone brightest. These works, often large in scale, are bold in their simplicity, showing life as it is, without artifice.

Among Courbet's most emblematic works is "Le Désespéré" (1845), a self-portrait in which the artist, wide-eyed and with a tormented expression, seems to plunge the viewer into the abyss of his tormented soul. "The Origin of the World" (1866) is another major work, provocative in its depiction of the female body.