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Realism

Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet (1819–1877) was the father of Realism, who rejected myth and idealised beauty to paint ordinary life on a grand, heroic scale. His vast Burial at Ornans scandalised the Paris art world.

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1819–1877 · French Realist painter

Courbet's insistence on painting only the real world opened the path to Impressionism and modern art.

From the artist's life

A committed radical, Courbet was jailed and bankrupted for his part in toppling the Vendôme Column during the 1871 Paris Commune.

Source: Wikipedia / Wikimedia
Portrait of Gustave Courbet
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia.
  • Founded Realism, painting peasants and workers on a monumental scale.
  • His Burial at Ornans broke the rules of what serious art could depict.
  • A political radical, he was ruined after the Paris Commune.
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Gustave Courbet, A Burial at Ornans

Key works

Where to start

Complete list of key works

Works with a dedicated ArtAtlas page are highlighted in gold.

List checked against Wikidata
  • A Burial at OrnansOn ArtAtlas
  • L'Origine du mondeListed for reference
  • The SleepersListed for reference
  • The Painter's StudioListed for reference
  • Woman with a ParrotListed for reference
  • The Woman in the WavesListed for reference
  • The Meeting, or Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet!Listed for reference
  • The Stone BreakersListed for reference
  • Young Ladies Beside the SeineListed for reference
  • The Wheat SiftersListed for reference
  • The Wounded ManListed for reference
  • The SourceListed for reference

1846

A Burial at Ornans

A Burial at Ornans is a painting of 1849–50 by Gustave Courbet. It is widely regarded as a major turning point in 19th-century French art. The painting records a funeral in Courbet's birthplace, the small town of Ornans.