Gustave Courbet
The French painter fled to Switzerland in 1873, where he died on December 31, 1877. As a follower of the revolutionary government in the Franco–Prussian War 1870–71 and a member of the community, after its defeat was made responsible for the toppling of the Vendôme Column, a symbol of the hated empire. After a six-month prison sentence, he eluded the cost of reestablishment by escaping to Switzerland.
Born on 10th of June 1819 in Ornans at Besançon Courbet began his training for a law degree but soon found greater interest in painting. This training was also abandoned for the sake of autodidactic further education. Soon, he found his characteristic style: detail, plasticity and high expressiveness. It is also realism that illustrates his anti-authoritarian and social awareness. In his writings, he declared: "The art of painting can consist only in the representation of objects visible and tangible to the painter. (...) Realism is essentially a democratic art.“
However, Courbet found no recognition in France during his lifetime but was valued all the more in Germany. His works had a great influence on such painters as Wilhelm Leibl and Hans Thoma. His landscapes and figure paintings are not just realistic depictions of nature but often have an allegorical claim.
