Pictures of life in the work of G. Courbet
Interest in everyday life of a person found a vivid and imaginative embodiment in the genre of everyday painting. The previously mentioned painting by Gustave Courbet “The Burial at Ornans” played a decisive role in the development of realism in the visual arts. Courbet gave a sense of deep artistic generalization to a private event, reproduced with almost documentary accuracy. Depicting various social strata, the artist created a kind of group portrait of the French provincial society of the middle of the 19th century.
On a huge canvas (315 x 668 cm), the artist has placed about fifty life-size figures. All of them, fellow countrymen of Courbet, gathered on the sad occasion of the funeral of the artist’s grandfather. Each of them experiences what happened in his own way, each artist presented realistically, without embellishment. Here is the sullen, imposing figure of a priest reading a prayer. On the left behind him is a clergyman with a crucifix in his hands. Not wanting to hide his feelings and smiling slyly, he gazes at the viewer. The gravedigger’s gaze is eagerly turned to the priest: “When will you finish reading the sermon?”
To his right are old men in 18th century costumes. In their images, the artist expressed his own philosophical thoughts about life and death. These old people have lived a long life, they know its value well. Perhaps they are the only ones who sincerely and deeply grieve for the deceased, mentally recalling the path they traveled together. Yes, death is not terrible if life is lived with dignity. Weeping women in black mourning robes crowd behind them.
The artistic solution of the picture is interesting. Its huge size and horizontal format made it possible to reproduce a multi-figured composition. Against a muted landscape background with mountains, steep cliffs and green slopes, the figures of the characters stand out especially sharply. Above everything depicted is a wide, boundless sky. People seem to be illuminated from the inside with natural and diffused light. The color scheme of the picture is sustained in dark, earthy tones. It is known that Courbet always began his work from the darkest places and then gradually brightened the illuminated parts of the canvas (bright red robes of the attendants in high headdresses, white gravedigger sleeves, a red carpet thrown over a white blanket on the coffin of the deceased, a white dog with a black collar) … On the right, there is a black line of female figures, partially diluted with splashes of white.Such a range of colors allowed the artist to clearly convey the state of general grief and restrained dignity.
The painting became the target of merciless and furious criticism. Some considered her composition inept, others were not satisfied with the too gloomy coloring, and still others were irritated by the almost caricatured image of the church ministers. But it was especially unusual to see so many ordinary people on one huge canvas. The artist himself wished to depict the everyday life of the inhabitants of a small town here. He wrote:
“The” Burial at Ornans “was, in essence, the burial of romanticism and left from this trend in painting only that which is the expression of the human spirit and, therefore, has the right to exist …”
As never before, realist artists were interested in the fate of the common man. His everyday, prosaic and at the same time sublimely beautiful life becomes the main subject of the image. The plot of Gustave Courbet’s painting “Stone Crushers” was inspired by life itself. This is how the artist describes the canvas and talks about the circumstances that gave rise to his idea:
“I was riding in our carriage … and stopped to look at two people – they were the complete personification of poverty. I immediately thought that the plot of a new painting was in front of me, I invited both of them to my studio the next morning, and since then I have been working on the painting … On one side of the canvas is depicted a seventy-year-old man; he bent over his work, his hammer raised up, his skin was tanned, his head was shaded by a straw hat, his trousers of rough cloth were all patched, and heels protrude from his once-blue torn socks and sabots that had burst from the bottom. On the other side is a young guy with a dusty head and a dark complexion. Through a greasy, tattered shirt, bare sides and shoulders are visible … holes shine on all sides of the dirty leather shoes. The old man is on his knees; the guy drags the basket with rubble. Alas! This is how many begin and end their lives. “
In a private episode, the artist shows and summarizes the life of unfortunate workers, conveys the severity of their miserable existence, the tragedy and hopelessness of fate. This social generalization is achieved by many artistic means. Bringing the viewer close to the figures of the heroes, the author does not show their faces. The teenage boy turned his back to the audience, and the old stonecutter pulled his hat so low that it completely hid his forehead and eyes. The lower part of his face is immersed in deep shadow. The artist chooses a very low point of view, so that the dusty roadside bush occupies almost the entire canvas, right down to the upper frame. The dark background merges with the gray-yellow earth, stones and faded grass, with the figures of people also covered with ash-gray dust. Despite the joylessness of the existence of ordinary workers, this picture inspires the idea of their inner strength and dignity.
