Gustave Courbet: Political and Artistic Radicalism

In the nineteenth century, the oppression of the lower class by the bourgeois caused a great deal of political and artistic radicalism. Thus, began the socialist revolution in 1848. One of the avant-guarde painters of this century whose subject matter was based on this oppression of the poor was Gustave Courbet.

          For example, Courbet’s painting The Stone Breakers, completed just one year after Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” in 1848, demonstrates the conditions and lifestyle of the proletariats, or lower working class. This painting shows a young boy struggling to carry a heavy basket of rocks as the gentleman to the right is in an uncomfortable back breaking position hammering away at rocks. It is apparent that the man on the left is older because of the wrinkles on his hands and the highlighted wrinkles on his cheeks where the sun hits his face. This man is trying to survive while working, and he is working in order to survive. Coubet exposes political radicalism by glorifying the working class and recognizing its oppressed state.

          Like few other artists, Courbet wanted to paint exactly what he saw in front of him; this led to a movement called realism, which was the painting of modern life. The rise of realism was inspired by the invention of the camera. Artists were suddenly challenged to keep up with new technology in order to produce images similar to what could be captured by a camera. Some artists intentionally cropped their compositions as if cutting off a section that the camera couldn’t see. However, artists still rejected the standards of the Academy simply because their subject matter was not of mythological or religious narratives; rather they painted what was directly in front of them. This is artistic radicalism. The Stone Breakers is a rather large painting, about five feet by eight and a half feet. Looking at this painting as a bourgeois member would be extremely intimidating and quite offensive. Firstly, it was untraditional for large scale works to be dedicated to “lowly” subject matter. Not to mention that these figures take up most of the painting. The wealthy must have been appalled to see this. Another aspect of artistic radicalism is expressed by Courbet with his rough paint application; he did not leave a smooth glossy finished surface like artists of the Academy would have done. Also, his figures are pushed to the foreground, forcing the viewer to acknowledge them and recognize what they do on an average day. This was happening right in front of him, and that is the very point Courbet was trying to make. The faces and the gazes of the figures are not visible, which gives them an anonymous identity, representing the oppressed class as a whole. Although their faces are not attracting attention, the simplicity and darkness of the background brings the figures into focus that much more. Courbet expresses some disinterest in creating depth and the illusion of perspective with this piece, which is also a sign of artistic radicalism.