Gustave Courbet, painter, was born to a prosperous farming family in Ornans in the east of France. In Paris he turned from the study of law to painting. Courbet was active in both avant-garde artistic circles and radical politics. His rejection of academic values, his espousal of artistic 'realism', his engagement with erotic art and his refusal of government honours earned him a dangerous reputation.After the collapse of the Paris Commune in 1871 Courbet's involvement in revolutionary politics resulted in him being imprisoned and heavily fined. Rather than pay a fine to a Government he despised he sought exile in Switzerland where he died from alcohol related disease. He was buried in his place of birth, Ornans. Ornans is east of Besancon near to the border with Switzerland.
Courbet is widely recognised as one of the most important French painters of the mid 19th century, pioneering the unadorned and unsentimentalized representation of peasant and everyday life. His work can be found in the Quai D'Orsay Museum in Paris and other major museums across the world.
Courbet is widely recognised as one of the most important French painters of the mid 19th century, pioneering the unadorned and unsentimentalized representation of peasant and everyday life. His work can be found in the Quai D'Orsay Museum in Paris and other major museums across the world.
Gustave Courbet, painter, was born to a prosperous farming family in Ornans in the east of France. In Paris he turned from the study of law to painting. Courbet was active in both avant-garde artistic circles and radical politics. His rejection of academic values, his espousal of artistic 'realism', his engagement with erotic art and his refusal of government honours earned him a dangerous reputation.After the collapse of the Paris Commune in 1871 Courbet's involvement in revolutionary politics resulted in him being imprisoned and heavily fined. Rather than pay a fine to a Government he despised he sought exile in Switzerland where he died from alcohol related disease. He was buried in his place of birth, Ornans. Ornans is east of Besancon near to the border with Switzerland.
Courbet is widely recognised as one of the most important French painters of the mid 19th century, pioneering the unadorned and unsentimentalized representation of peasant and everyday life. His work can be found in the Quai D'Orsay Museum in Paris and other major museums across the world.
Courbet is widely recognised as one of the most important French painters of the mid 19th century, pioneering the unadorned and unsentimentalized representation of peasant and everyday life. His work can be found in the Quai D'Orsay Museum in Paris and other major museums across the world.
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