Landscape from La Source Bleue, Gustave Courbet, 1872
Gustave Courbet, portraitGustave CourbetFrench, 1819–1877

Landscape from La Source Bleue

1872 · Painting

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Landscape from La Source Bleue” now? Collection: Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Not on view at present. Checked October 9, 2026.

Nationalmuseum

Stockholm, Sweden

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum's website

About the painting

In his landscapes, Courbet often painted his native countryside in eastern France – as in this painting of a deep-blue spring in the region of Ornans. Courbet avoided romantic and picturesque views, favouring a more realistic and unsentimental portrayal of nature. His interest in geology is expressed in his fascination for depicting rough rock surfaces and eroding cliffs. In this painting, the hard work of man is also present – above the mouth of the cave, a woodsman is chopping down a mighty tree.

Nationalmuseum

Details

In the catalog

Display history

  1. Not on view at present

    Nationalmuseum · Oct 9, 2026 — now · Verified

  2. Whether it was on view is unknown

    Nationalmuseum · Sep 27, 2026 — Oct 9, 2026 · Unconfirmed

Sources

In the life of Gustave Courbet

The whole life
  1. 4 September 1870

    Proposes taking down the Vendôme Column

    On 4 September 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, Courbet wrote to the Government of National Defense asking for permission to dismantle the column in the Place Vendôme, a monument devoid of artistic value that perpetuated the ideas of war and conquest; he suggested moving it to a place such as the Invalides. The government did nothing, but the proposal was not forgotten.

  2. 18 March 1871

    The Paris Commune

    After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War a revolutionary government, the Paris Commune, briefly took power in the city on 18 March 1871. Courbet played an active part.

  3. 5 April 1871

    Courbet organizes the Federation of Artists

    Some three to four hundred painters, sculptors, architects and decorators attended the Federation's first meeting in the Grand Amphitheater of the School of Medicine. Courbet chaired it and proposed reopening the Louvre and the Musée du Luxembourg, holding a Salon free of government interference and awards, and abolishing the École des Beaux-Arts and other state institutions.

  4. 16 April 1871

    Elected delegate for the 6th arrondissement

    In special elections on 16 April Courbet was elected delegate for the 6th arrondissement of Paris; he was given the title of Delegate of Fine Arts and on 21 April was also made a member of the Commission on Education.

  5. 16 May 1871

    The fall of the Vendôme Column

    On 16 May 1871, nine days before the fall of the Commune, the column whose removal Courbet had requested back in September 1870 was pulled down in a large ceremony with military bands and photographers and broke into pieces. Some witnesses said Courbet was there, others denied it.

  6. 1873

    Leaves for Switzerland to escape the debt for the column

    In 1873 the newly elected president of the Republic, Patrice de MacMahon, announced plans to rebuild the column at Courbet's expense. Unable to pay, he went into self-imposed exile in Switzerland to avoid bankruptcy and remained there until his death.

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