La Mer

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.

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.

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.

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.

16 May 1871

The fall of the Vendôme Column