Gustav Courbet, 1819-1877. A true individual who famously said he wanted to be remembered when he died with this statement..... "He belonged to no school, no church, no institution, no acadamy. Least of all to any régime other than the régime of Liberty".
Courbet has a huge volume of artistic works from Landscapes to Seascapes, from Portraits to numerous Self-Portraits, Still life, Social depiction. His range and interest was vast and he spearheaded the 19th Century Realism movement. But alas, as fantastic as this might be, my interests lay in one particular area of his expertise and you don't get any prize for guessing which area I refere to.
During the 1860's Gustave embarked on his erotic painting journey and many of his paintings would not be shown in public due to their graphic nature and his fascination with female genitalia. Those paintings that were displayed increased Courbet's notoriety.
This picture above "The Origin of Life" was not publicly displayed untill 1988 and at the time of it's painting in 1866 was subject to a police report.
Gustav in later life lived in exile, in part, because of his disagreements with Napoleon III and his refusal to comply with formalities, even after Napoleon III had offered him the cross of The Legion of Honor. And also
his unpaid fines to the newly elected president.
Gustav Courbet passed away at the age of 58 on the 31st of December 1877 from liver disease after many years of excessive drinking.
I hope you like this blog, please leave a comment if it interests you! Untill next time...................
this is very interesting...would love to see more of his works..Coubert has self portraits?? love it all thank you..
ReplyDeletemeant to ask you...have you viewed Mr Jan Saudek's work..amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it Lushka, Thanks for taking the time to look through my Blog. I have viewed Mr. Jan Saudek's work, it's fantastic. I love the fact that he uses ordinary people to portray the cycles of life and love, with a layer of artistic perception magnetically drawing you into the subtle erotic gracefulness of everyday scenes. Also highlighting the fact that in this age of false celebrity admiration, age or bodyshape has very little impact on a sexy erotic soul. Mr. Saudek captures this perfectly with his range of models.
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