Week 2 Blog Post

Gustave Courbet is seen as an “avant-garde” artist who created represented realism in his pieces. In Paris 1848 there were street fights going on which caused Gustave to become an advocate through his paintings. Two paintings of his were created in regards to the street fights during this time. The first of these paintings was The Stone Breakers, and the second being A Burial at Ornans.

The Stone Breakers was painted in 1849. This painting shows a boy and his father breaking stones to create gravel that was used for roadbeds. Those who were known as stonebreakers represented the disenfranchised peasants where our modern life was formed. The two figures that don’t show their face wear clothing from two different times. The young boy has tattered clothing, but wears modern shoes, which is said to represent what grim future modern life will hold. The older man wears resent peasant like clothing that was said to represents the rural past of their people.  Courbet was making a political statement in his piece. Courbet further studied the two men in his studio.

Realism is portrayed in this image by the colors and positions of the figures. The shadows and dreary paints leave a feeling of depression and aggravation. His rough brush strokes make the scene realistic and gloomy. The positions of the figures show the strain in their movements and struggles in their work. This piece represents the injustice of the work these men had to endure.

            Shortly after The Stone Breakers Courbet painted A Burial At Ornans. Another large-scale painting represented a burial-taking place. The many facial features of the group surrounding the grave create a conflicting emotion in the piece. We see a group of clergymen looking off to the side with their attention clearly not in the present situation. There are many grieving woman surrounding the grave. Some are hiding their faces, and others are looking off and seem to be walking away from the scene. My attention was drawn to the dog in the corner of the painting with clearly no interest in what is happening around him. Had it not been for the title I would not have seen this as a funeral. The many faces depict the emotions that happen in a real funeral. No matter the status of the dead.

            In the colors and brush strokes, like The Stone Breakers, we see gloom and depression. The attention the figures hold on the grave shows the numb uncaring feel those hold during a funeral service. After Courbet had submitted his work to the Salon he knew it would be detested. Regardless, Courbet challenged the style of academic paintings. This established his avant-garde position in the artistic world. He aimed to create controversy with his paintings. His independence in the realism of his paintings is inspirational. They create controversy and represent the truth in modern life, what was, what is, and what will be.