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)
Paysage avec Rochers

Gustave Courbet

Paysage avec Rochers

Sale Date: March 13, 2020

Auction Closed

At the forest creek, 1875

Gustave Courbet

At the forest creek, 1875

Sale Date: March 14, 2020

Auction Closed

Le Ruisseau entre les Rochers

Attributed to Gustave Courbet

Le Ruisseau entre les Rochers

Sale Date: February 5, 2020

Auction Closed

LA MER ORAGEUSE

Gustave Courbet

LA MER ORAGEUSE

Sale Date: January 31, 2020

Auction Closed

PORTRAIT OF MATHILDE CUOQ

Gustave Courbet

PORTRAIT OF MATHILDE CUOQ

Sale Date: January 31, 2020

Auction Closed

PORTRAIT PRÉSUMÉ DE TONY MARLET

Gustave Courbet

PORTRAIT PRÉSUMÉ DE TONY MARLET

Sale Date: January 31, 2020

Auction Closed

CHÂTEAU DE CHILLON

Gustave Courbet

CHÂTEAU DE CHILLON

Sale Date: January 31, 2020

Auction Closed

Voilier au large d'une côte rocheuse

Attributed to Gustave Courbet and Cherubino Pata

Voilier au large d'une côte rocheuse

Sale Date: December 14, 2019

Auction Closed

Le Lac de Starnberg, en Bavière, 1869

Gustave Courbet

Le Lac de Starnberg, en Bavière, 1869

Sale Date: December 11, 2019

Auction Closed

La Clairière

Gustave Courbet

La Clairière

Sale Date: December 12, 2019

Auction Closed

Veduta di bosco con cerbiatti

Gustave Courbet

Veduta di bosco con cerbiatti

Sale Date: October 26, 2019

Auction Closed

Marée basse sur la Manche, 1865

Gustave Courbet

Marée basse sur la Manche, 1865

Sale Date: October 28, 2019

Auction Closed

Paysage de Franche-Comté, 1840

Gustave Courbet

Paysage de Franche-Comté, 1840

Sale Date: October 28, 2019

Auction Closed

La forêt en hiver, 1872–1873

Gustave Courbet

La forêt en hiver, 1872–1873

Sale Date: October 28, 2019

Auction Closed

Still life with apples on a plate and..., 1846–1847

Attributed to Gustave Courbet

Still life with apples on a plate and..., 1846–1847

Sale Date: September 27, 2019

Auction Closed

LA GRÈVE, 1865, 1865

Gustave Courbet

LA GRÈVE, 1865, 1865

Sale Date: September 25, 2019

Auction Closed

La plage de Saint-Aubin, 1868

Gustave Courbet

La plage de Saint-Aubin, 1868

Sale Date: September 26, 2019

Auction Closed

Rocks of ornan

In the manner of Gustave Courbet

Rocks of ornan

Sale Date: September 11, 2019

Auction Closed

Chaumiére dans le Jura, 1876

Studio of Gustave Courbet

Chaumiére dans le Jura, 1876

Sale Date: September 4, 2019

Auction Closed

Paysage de neige avec arbres et rochers, 1865

Gustave Courbet

Paysage de neige avec arbres et rochers, 1865

Sale Date: July 9, 2019

Auction Closed

Marine, 1869

Gustave Courbet

Marine, 1869

Sale Date: July 11, 2019

Auction Closed

SEASIDE LANDSCAPE, 1870

Gustave Courbet

SEASIDE LANDSCAPE, 1870

Sale Date: June 26, 2019

Auction Closed

Soleil couchant, 1865

Gustave Courbet

Soleil couchant, 1865

Sale Date: June 16, 2019

Auction Closed

CERF À LA MARE (FONTAINEBLEAU)

Gustave Courbet

CERF À LA MARE (FONTAINEBLEAU)

Sale Date: May 22, 2019

Auction Closed

English (US)

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