Art History Gustave Courbet Realism Paintings

Art History Gustave Courbet Realism Paintings

These last paintings are Courbet's socially aware paintings. Above, three poor people are listening to a violin player. The dog on the floor is softly sleeping while the musician plays. The guy in the far left is drinking. The guy beside him is smoking a pipe. This shows that he is from the working class poor. The entire scenery shows that even the poor partake of the enjoyment of music. It is just one of the few pleasures they can indulge. In any case, this depressing painting by Gustave Courbet deserves 5 stars rating.

This painting is even more depressing. It was featured in Courbet's Pavilion of Realism. It critiques the poor working condition of rural workers. Above, we see a young and an old man. The old person represents the future of the boy. This painting shows the sad reality that those born poor usually die poor. In no time, they become one with their labor. This is noted on how the cold guy is becoming one with the depressing landscape. This sad painting by Gustave Courbet deserves 5 stars rating.

This paintings too was featured in Courbet's Pavilion of Realism. It is about a burial. However, this death is devoid of mysticism. There only show of piety comes from the priests and his attendants. Close to the viewer is an open grave. Courbet aimed to shows that death is a tragic fact of life. It is not something glorious or sacred. When we die, we simply enter an open pit. I think that is everything worth mentioning about this painting. It deserves 5 stars rating.

This painting shows some farmers returning home from the market. They each have the supplies they bought. What I find odd is the man walking the pig. He is dressed more like middle class man. Needless to say, he has not been a farmer for very long. The sunrise in the background is unsightly. This lovely painting by Gustave Courbet deserves 5 stars rating.

This following painting shows Gustave Courbet meeting with his sponsor. It was in this meeting where they planned the paintings for the Pavilion of Realism. Courbet choose to illustrated himself like the traveling Jew. During the time, there was a popular print about the traveling Jews. They were kind misunderstood figures that people always suspected. Courbet associated himself with the group in this depiction. He was trying to show to the viewer that he was like the Diaspora Jews. Like them, he was always misunderstood. In any case, this lovely self portrait by Gustave Courbet deserves 5 stars rating.

Here is another self portrait of Gustave Courpet. He painted himself with his lover girl. Both are holding each other's hand. This painting was well liked in the academy  I can see why. It is a very sweet depiction of the artist. This lovely self portrait deserves 5 stars rating.

This last self portrait is a summery of 7 years of Courbet's career. The artist is at the center of the painting. Behind him, we see his model. Courbet has turned his back on this classical artifice. He looks to nature for inspiration. The  boy beside him is learning from Courbet. Like many scholars of his time, Courbet was concerned with the education of children. He worried that in the city their innocence was being lost. He wanted children to learn moderation from nature. The cat in the floor is just a cat. It also represent the kid's infantile nature.

On the right side of the painting, we see Courbet's shareholders. They are like minded individuals like himself. The man with the open book is a famous poet he liked. Beside the couple, we see a kid drawing on the floor. Like the other boy, he is trying to learn from Courbet. Courbet liked how kids imitated adults. He believed that to help them learn, grownups should give the kids their very own miniature workshops.

The left group shows the world of the exploiters and the exploited. The figure sitting down next to the dog is based on a portrait of Napoleon III. To Courbet, Napoleon III represented the biggest exploiter. For those that do not know, Napoleon III came to power after France second Revolution. In essence, he stole democracy from right under their noses. I think that is everything worth mentioning about this painting. Truly, this self portrait deserves 5 stars rating.

This last painting shows two hunters. In the foreground, we see the bloodhounds and the fallen deer. This is a pretty realistic hunting scene. The guy with the horn is signaling to the other hunters to see the game. This last painting deserves 5 stars rating. I hope that you liked these Gustave Coubet reviews.