GUSTAVE COURBET

"I am the proudest and most arrogant man in France," boasted Gustave Courbet (1819-77) in an 1853 letter to a friend. His fellow artists, salon jurists, critics and the general population would have likely agreed. From setting up his own "Pavilion of Realism" at the Exposition Universelle to leading the Federation of Artists during the brief-lived Paris Commune, Courbet became as well known for his political involvement as for his socially committed style of painting. His portraits, landscapes and still lifes are quiet, contemplative ...[Read more]