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Lot Essay
Like most artists of his generation, Courbet's natural instinct was to paint the human body. The influence of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts could not be ignored even if an artist chose not to abide by its principles, and the giant Salon nudes by the leaders of the academic tradition such as Bouguereau, Cabanel and Baudry were almost always greeted with accolades by the critics. Commercially speaking, the female nude was a popular subject that appealed to the taste of the Second Empire, and artists found a ready market for their paintings depicting naked women in pastoral landscapes or stylish contemporary interiors.
Courbet's earliest nudes date from the 1840s (Fernier, nos. 17, 59, 64 and 86) and are similar to the pastoral scenes that were also being painted by artists such as Diaz de la Pea, Isabey and Millet in his period known as the manire fleurie. They also reveal Courbet's interest in the "rococo revival" which was taking place in the 1840s. The meaning of Courbet's female nudes was discussed extensively even during his lifetime, beginning with commentaries by Charles Baudelaire; the subject still prompts controversy today among art historians (see M. Fried, "Courbet's Femininity," in eds. S. Faunce and L. Nochlin, Courbet Reconsidered, exh. cat., The Brooklyn Museum, 1988, pp. 43-53). Courbet's earliest nudes were depicted as innocent nymphs or bacchantes placed in a sylvan setting. They reached their culmination in such controversial paintings as his 1853 Salon entry, Les baigneuses (Fernier, no. 140) and more than a decade later in his realistic depiction of two naked women in bed together, a painting that shocked Paris with its suggestive and erotic subject matter (fig. 1).
Stylistically, Femme endormie, tude recalls Courbet's pastoral nudes of the 1840s; in fact, a date of 1849 was recently suggested based on similarities with Femme dormant prs d'un ruisseau (Fernier, no. 59). The present picture represents one of Courbet's earliest depictions of a large, voluptuous nude, a subject that would cause him great notoriety later in his career. This transition in style would support a date in the late 1840s, or early 1850s. Like most of Courbet's female nudes, the model is shown sleeping. She rests on a soft, crumpled drapery which supports her lumbering form. Courbet has placed her in a verdant woodland setting with hints of a blue sky hidden behind the trees. The goddesses Venus and Diana are her most obvious ancestors, but she also predicts a new reality and naturalism that came to define Courbet's greatest nudes.
This painting was included in the landmark 1882 Courbet retrospective organized by Courbet's great friend and ardent supporter, Jules Castaganary.
Courbet's earliest nudes date from the 1840s (Fernier, nos. 17, 59, 64 and 86) and are similar to the pastoral scenes that were also being painted by artists such as Diaz de la Pea, Isabey and Millet in his period known as the manire fleurie. They also reveal Courbet's interest in the "rococo revival" which was taking place in the 1840s. The meaning of Courbet's female nudes was discussed extensively even during his lifetime, beginning with commentaries by Charles Baudelaire; the subject still prompts controversy today among art historians (see M. Fried, "Courbet's Femininity," in eds. S. Faunce and L. Nochlin, Courbet Reconsidered, exh. cat., The Brooklyn Museum, 1988, pp. 43-53). Courbet's earliest nudes were depicted as innocent nymphs or bacchantes placed in a sylvan setting. They reached their culmination in such controversial paintings as his 1853 Salon entry, Les baigneuses (Fernier, no. 140) and more than a decade later in his realistic depiction of two naked women in bed together, a painting that shocked Paris with its suggestive and erotic subject matter (fig. 1).
Stylistically, Femme endormie, tude recalls Courbet's pastoral nudes of the 1840s; in fact, a date of 1849 was recently suggested based on similarities with Femme dormant prs d'un ruisseau (Fernier, no. 59). The present picture represents one of Courbet's earliest depictions of a large, voluptuous nude, a subject that would cause him great notoriety later in his career. This transition in style would support a date in the late 1840s, or early 1850s. Like most of Courbet's female nudes, the model is shown sleeping. She rests on a soft, crumpled drapery which supports her lumbering form. Courbet has placed her in a verdant woodland setting with hints of a blue sky hidden behind the trees. The goddesses Venus and Diana are her most obvious ancestors, but she also predicts a new reality and naturalism that came to define Courbet's greatest nudes.
This painting was included in the landmark 1882 Courbet retrospective organized by Courbet's great friend and ardent supporter, Jules Castaganary.