Les Gorges des Saillon

Sarah Faunce compares the present work to Paysage fantastique aux roches anthromorphes (exh. cat. Courbet, Paris, Grand Palais, 1977-1978, no. 81), which features a similar construct of ladders set against the rock-face. Most significantly, an almost identical human facial profile is created out of the boulder in the lower centre of the composition. This is not only a humoristic device which can be traced in the history of art back to Giuseppe Arcimboldo, but also reinforces Courbet's idea of his native land as being a living, breathing entity.
Typical of Courbet is the way in which the waterfall and rocks fill the entire picture plane, unframed by trees or sky. The subject is presented starkly as a single mass of matter, confronting the viewer, yet in this instance the eye is drawn closer by following the ladder to hidden points above.
Jean-Jacques Fernier intended to include the present work in his supplement to the catalogue raisonné on the artist as "Courbet et collaboration", on the basis that in his opinion Cherubino Pata may have assisted the artist in its creation.
Sarah Faunce authenticated this work on the basis of a photograph in 2008.