Post #2 Realism and the Early Avant-Garde - Option #1

            Gustave Courbet is known for his socialist ideals and his use of realism within his artwork. While his paintings today are highly regarded and often referred to as “avant-garde”, they were at one time considered to be extremely offensive to the bourgeoisie. In his paintings The Stonebreakers and A burial at Ornans we are seeing social, political, and artistic statements being made. These paintings created much controversy due to his intentional challenge to the academic style and his intention to provoke the bourgeoisie.

            In the painting The Stonebreakers we are seeing a large amount of political radicalism. Courbet chose to show two men, one old and one young, breaking rocks to be used for gravel. We are seeing the men doing backbreaking work that only people of the lower classes would perform. We can see the difficulty of the work as the young man strains to lift the crushed rocks while the old man kneels as he breaks the stones. The men are depicted in ragged clothes that are torn to shreds by their daily labor. One can tell that the paint was roughly applied and that there is somewhat of a disinterest in perspective and depth.

The Stonebreakers was quite controversial at the time due to the political, social, and artistic issues of mid-century France. We are seeing political radicalism within the painting because Courbet is glorifying the working class. He chose to put the two lower class men in the foreground of the painting, filling the canvas. He is showing the inequality between the classes by depicting the oppression of the poor. The two men are also facing away from the viewer. Rather than making them individuals these two men are representing all of the oppressed. We can also see political radicalism because Courbet is creating empathy for their oppressed state. He is showing the men performing their strenuous job and exerting enormous physical effort. Artistically this painting goes against the ideal of the academy. Courbet roughly applied the paint, the figures are turned away from the viewer, there is a disinterest in perspective and depth, and he used this very large canvas to show peasants working rather than showing a historical, biblical, or mythological scene. This painting greatly offended the bourgeoisie because not only did it go against the artistic standards of the academy but Courbet was showing the tension and turmoil between the classes.

In A Burial at Ornans Courbet depicts a burial in life size. This is a scene that could actually be witnessed in modern life, which is why it is considered to be a realist painting. Looking through the crowd of people we can see a mix of emotions, which are all commonly seen at an actual funeral. Several people appear to be bored, some are weeping, and others seem to be distracted. This painting was denounced by the Salon due to Courbet’s disregard to the academy style and lack or creating a traditional history painting. The Salon was also displeased by Courbet’s lack of suggestion to the afterlife.

In both The Stonebreakers and A Burial at Ornans we can see the use of realism. Courbet is showing scenes that were actually happening in modern life. While Courbet’s paintings were denounced by the Salon due to their political and artistic radicalism they are now considered to be both innovative and revolutionary.