Skip to main content

Gustave Courbet

 


Gustave Courbet, The Desperate Man, 1843–45

CONTEXT CLUES:

Courbet started this self-portrait when he was 24 and struggling to make a name for himself. He was having trouble getting galleries to display his artworks, and he was also struggling to find his own 'style' and decide what kind of art he wanted to make.

Courbet never tried to display or sell this painting. He always kept it in his studio, even when he moved countries. Compare The Desperate Man to Courbet's other self-portraits below. In almost all his other paintings, Courbet looks very confident, almost smug, with his head tilted back slightly. 

Though many knew him as a very confident, successful artist, he later wrote to a friend, "Through this laughing mask that you know me with, I hide the sorrow, the bitterness, and the sadness that grips the heart like a vampire from within."

Other self-portraits by Courbet:










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self Portrait Gallery

Look through the gallery and choose 3 self-portraits that you personally find interesting. Click on the photos for more information about them.
Post a Comment
Read more

Pablo Picasso

  LEFT PHOTO: Pablo Picasso, Self Portrait , 1896 (age 15) RIGHT PHOTO: Pablo Picasso,  Self Portrait Facing Death, 1972 (age 90) CONTEXT CLUES: Picasso was taught to draw from a very young age and was allowed to start taking classes at an art college at the age of only 13. However, at age 16 he dropped out of art school to pursue his own ideas about art. His paintings became increasingly unique and abstract. Self Portrait Facing Death  was painted less than a year before Picasso died. He drew himself with huge, wide eyes facing forward and a blue-green skin color. How do you think he was feeling when he made this artwork? More self-portraits by Picasso, in the order they were made:
Post a Comment
Read more

Egon Shiele

  Egon Schiele, Self Portrait with Striped Shirt , 1910 CONTEXT CLUES: At first glance, this appears to be a normal and relatively realistic self-portrait. But look again - Egon drew himself with wide eyes, a huge forehead, and tall hair. The skin colors are also somewhat splotchy and unblended. Egon was known for extremely expressive paintings where the anatomy and poses are exaggerated and dramatic. More self-portraits by Egon Schiele:
Post a Comment
Read more