The Courbet artist's studio from 1854 is probably the largest work of promotion of an artist's activity in the history of art. And today it is kept in one of my favorite museums in Paris, the Musèe d'Orsay.
The work was created for the great Paris Universal Exhibition of 1855. But in reality at the time it did not have great success and was rejected by the selection committee. So what did Courbet decide to do? In response to the committee he decided to mount a solo exhibition of his in a "Realism Pavilion" which he financed at his own expense. Unfortunately, Courbet's exhibition was also not very successful both commercially and critically. But he still conquered an important place in the history of art. By challenging the authority of the institutional art world, Courbet paved the way for others, including the Impressionists.
Although Courbet was avowedly a realist, his paintings often have symbolic aspects. For example, The Artist's Studio has a rather confusing subtitle: "Real allegory summarizing seven years of my artistic and moral life."
The protagonist of the work is him and he is represented while he paints in his studio. A study that almost looks like a cave. The artist is also surrounded by a mysterious crowd made up of all different people. The individual figures are portrayed very well, but collectively they don't seem to make any sense to us today.
So who are all these people and why are they gathered here? Courbet himself told us about it through a long description of the painting. His language, however, has often been considered unclear and open to various interpretations.
In the foreground at the center seated while painting is the artist, Courbet himself. He is represented while he is painting. The nude model standing behind him has been interpreted as an embodiment of the truth. And the little boy who looks at him admiringly was seen as an allusion to innocence.
The characters to the left of the work as stated by Courbet himself come from the world of ordinary life. And so it would seem for the seated man looking down with a particular tall hat. he is identified as the entrepreneur. And the figure on the left in the foreground sitting with the hunting dogs has just been convincingly identified as Emperor Napoleon III.
Seated among Courbet's friends on the right is a man reading. This is Charles Baudelaire, one of the leading French poets of the time and also a famous art critic. The couple standing in front of Baudelaire and a stone's throw from the seated artist were described by Courbet himself as art lovers or collectors.
The description of this elaborate work by Courbet appears for the first time in a letter dated 1854 to his friend Jules Husson. and it is the same man who is represented in the work seated while watching the artist at work, right behind the nude model.
Courbet's technique as a painter is said to be a direct expression of his personality. He was probably a very bold man, self-confident and somewhat indifferent to convention. He usually worked quickly and spontaneously, applying paint with a palette knife. In fact, he was not interested in precise details or a very accurate finish.
He was born in Ornans, in eastern France, into a wealthy family of farmers. And his past has great importance in his personal life story. Although he in fact works mainly in Paris, he often represents subjects related to the countryside.
He became famous in 1850 when he exhibited three extraordinary paintings at the Paris Salon, and in particular thanks to one of them Funeral at Ornans, a huge and provocatively non-idealized scene of country life.
These works made him the early leader of the realist movement and the artists of this movement believe that everyday life can provide topics as serious as the main traditional themes of history, religion and mythology. Thus these radical ideas of Courbet also emerge in his politics.
00:00 Intro
00:31 History of the work
01:57 Details
05:43 Realism
06:51 Political role
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Art and the Cities is my personal art and travel blog and RU-vid channel. Or rather of art trips. I'm not only talking about art history but also about travel, museums, galleries, the art market, love stories, books, exhibitions and much more.
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Soon,
Clelia
#art
21 июл 2024
