Gustave Courbet

(French, 1819–1877)

Gustave Courbet was a French artist and founder of the Realist movement in 19th-century France. His unidealized depictions of everyday life often provoked controversy, especially his The Stone Breakers (1850), a scene of manual laborers, and The Origin of the World (1866), a closely cropped rendering of a woman’s genitals. “The expression of beauty is in direct ratio to the power of conception the artist has acquired,” he once remarked. Born on June 10, 1819 in Ornans, France, he began taking lessons with a local artist at the age of 14. In 1839, he moved to Paris to study the works of Caravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens at the Louvre, and after long years of study he exhibited works at the 1848 Paris Salon. A popular and celebrated artist during his lifetime, he pushed the boundaries and influenced the work of Édouard Manet, the Impressionists, and Paul Cézanne. An active member of the left-wing Paris Commune of 1871, Courbet was imprisoned after a new government other threw the short-lived commune. Blamed for the destruction of the Place Vendôme Column during skirmishes in 1871, he was billed 300,000 francs by the new government. Unable able to pay, he fled to La Tour-de-Pails, Switzerland, where he lived until his death on December 31, 1877. Today, the artist’s paintings are held in the collections of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, among others.

Gustave Courbet News

Museums & Institutions

Musée d’Orsay Files Police Complaint Following Graffiti Incident

by Holly Black
Musée d’Orsay Files Police Complaint Following Graffiti Incident
Pop Culture

Art Behind the Meme: Courbet's Unhinged Self-Portrait

by Vittoria Benzine
Art Behind the Meme: Courbet's Unhinged Self-Portrait
Art Fairs

Here's Our Pick of 5 Standout Works at TEFAF Maastricht, From a $1 Million Hippo Sculpture to a Rediscovered Dutch Masterpiece

by Eileen Kinsella
Here's Our Pick of 5 Standout Works at TEFAF Maastricht, From a $1 Million Hippo Sculpture to a Rediscovered Dutch Masterpiece

Gustave Courbet Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Gustave Courbet (1,091 results)
Path near Ornans

Gustave Courbet

Path near Ornans

Sale Date: July 15, 2006

Auction Closed

Teichlandschaft mit Hirte und Kühen

Attributed to Gustave Courbet

Teichlandschaft mit Hirte und Kühen

Sale Date: June 23, 2006

Auction Closed

Chemin dans un sous-bois, 1852

Gustave Courbet

Chemin dans un sous-bois, 1852

Sale Date: June 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Pêcheur au bord de la Loue, 1873

Gustave Courbet

Pêcheur au bord de la Loue, 1873

Sale Date: June 13, 2006

Auction Closed

Paysage de mer, 1866

Gustave Courbet

Paysage de mer, 1866

Sale Date: June 13, 2006

Auction Closed

Früchtestilleben, 1871

Gustave Courbet

Früchtestilleben, 1871

Sale Date: May 20, 2006

Auction Closed

Wäscherin an einem Waldbach

Attributed to Gustave Courbet

Wäscherin an einem Waldbach

Sale Date: May 17, 2006

Auction Closed

Village houses

Style of Gustave Courbet

Village houses

Sale Date: May 3, 2006

Auction Closed

Kühe und Bauern bei der Rast - La Sieste

Gustave Courbet

Kühe und Bauern bei der Rast - La Sieste

Sale Date: March 25, 2006

Auction Closed

Paysage avec un pêcheur, 1872

Gustave Courbet

Paysage avec un pêcheur, 1872

Sale Date: March 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Paysage boisé

Gustave Courbet

Paysage boisé

Sale Date: March 18, 2006

Auction Closed

Flusslandschaft mit Felsen, 1875–1876

Studio of Gustave Courbet

Flusslandschaft mit Felsen, 1875–1876

Sale Date: March 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Landscape with stag (in collab. w/Cherubin..., 1873

Gustave Courbet

Landscape with stag (in collab. w/Cherubin..., 1873

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

La vague (in collab. w/Cherubin Pata), 1875–1877

Gustave Courbet

La vague (in collab. w/Cherubin Pata), 1875–1877

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Le Leman au crépuscule devant Bon-Port, 1876

Gustave Courbet

Le Leman au crépuscule devant Bon-Port, 1876

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Le lac (Les Roches d'Ormans), 1866

Gustave Courbet

Le lac (Les Roches d'Ormans), 1866

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Sentier dans les Rochers, 1876

Gustave Courbet

Sentier dans les Rochers, 1876

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Fishing boats at St. Aubin, 1868–1869

Gustave Courbet

Fishing boats at St. Aubin, 1868–1869

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Portrait of a young girl from Salins, 1860

Gustave Courbet

Portrait of a young girl from Salins, 1860

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Paysage avec un pêcheur, 1863

Gustave Courbet

Paysage avec un pêcheur, 1863

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Le sculpteur, 1845

Gustave Courbet

Le sculpteur, 1845

Sale Date: May 22, 1997

Auction Closed

Marine

Gustave Courbet

Marine

Sale Date: December 12, 2005

Auction Closed

Falesia a Étretat, 1872

Gustave Courbet

Falesia a Étretat, 1872

Sale Date: November 24, 2005

Auction Closed

Le Château de Chillon (collab...., 1874–1877

Gustave Courbet

Le Château de Chillon (collab...., 1874–1877

Sale Date: December 1, 2005

Auction Closed

English (US)

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