Gustave CourbetFrench, 1819–1877Autoportrait
May one see it?
Unknown
Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie de Besançon
Besançon, France
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
In the museum's own words — in French
huile sur toile (cinq morceaux de toile assemblés et marouflés sur une autre toile tendue sur le châssis)
Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie de Besançon
Particulars
- Accession number
- 883.23.1
Meanwhile, in the life of Gustave Courbet
The whole life1848
Salon of 1848: seven paintings accepted, none sold
In 1848 all seven works Courbet submitted to the jury were shown at the Salon, but he did not manage to sell a single painting.
by 1848
First supporters among younger critics
By 1848 Courbet had gained supporters among the younger critics, the Neo-romantics and Realists, notably Champfleury.
September 1848
The funeral of his grand-uncle at Ornans
In September 1848 Courbet attended the funeral of his grand-uncle at Ornans. The mourners, the townspeople, later became the models for the huge canvas “A Burial at Ornans”.
1849
Gold medal at the Salon of 1849
Courbet's first Salon success came with “After Dinner at Ornans”, reminiscent of Chardin and Le Nain; it earned him a gold medal and was purchased by the state. The medal exempted his works from jury approval at the Salon until 1857, when the rule changed.
1850
A letter to a friend: “the life of a savage”
In 1850 Courbet wrote to a friend that in so very civilized a society he had to live the life of a savage, to be free even of governments, and to address himself directly to the people, who had his sympathies. He linked his idea of realism in art to political anarchism.
