Segolene Le Men

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Courbet

Segolene Le Men

Synopsis:
When the great French realist painter Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) began his career in the 1840s, grand historical, mythological, and biblical themes were still felt to be the most fitting subjects for ambitious painting. Yet Courbet, a dynamic and boundlessly self-confident man, proud of his rural origins and guided by his strong republican beliefs, rejected these subjects as too remote from actual experience. Instead, he depicted scenes of everyday life, particularly among the peasants and the working class, with a naturalism then considered shocking. This monograph from art historian Segolene Le Men provides a new understanding of how Courbet's life and milieu shaped his art.

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Other editions: 2003, 2002, 1998, 1994, 1994, 1993, 1987, 1987, 1984