Gustave Courbet
1819-1877 · French (Ornans/Paris) · Realism
Known for: Founder of Realism who painted workers and peasants with unflinching honesty and created The Origin of the World
Courbet declared 'Show me an angel and I will paint one' and founded the Realist movement by painting peasants, workers, and landscapes with brutal honesty. His Origin of the World - a close-up of female genitalia - remains one of the most provocative paintings ever made.
He was a socialist who participated in the Paris Commune and was blamed for demolishing the Vendome Column. He fled to Switzerland to avoid prison and died in exile.
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