Gustave Courbet, A Carefully Constructed Populism

The painter from Franche-Comté intended to create art of the people, but certainly not for the people.

Although caricatures depicted him as a working-class painter, Gustave Courbet was a great master, and his clients were from the upper class who could afford his fees. Opposed to any jury’s obstruction that hindered his ability to connect with the public, from 1855 onwards in parallel to the Salon, he chose to manage his own exhibitions if needed; a sense of self-promotion that would encourage Manet and the Impressionists to take charge of their own showcases.

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