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(Zoom on the self-portrait by Courbet)

The Desperate Man

Oil painting on canvas by Gustave Courbet
Artwork size : 45 x 54 cm, 1843-1845
Conseil Investissement Art BNP Paribas

     The Desperate Man is a painting by the French painter Gustave Courbet. The artwork is a self-portrait of the artist. It is thought that he made this painting between 1843 and 1845, at the beginning of his installation in Paris. It shows him “desperate” but especially in full youth.

     Courbet was very attached to this canvas since he took it with him into exile in Switzerland in 1873. A few years later, Dr. Paul Collin at the bedside of Courbet during his last days, describes the painter’s studio and, more particularly, “a painting representing Courbet with a desperate expression and that he had entitled Despair for this reason”.

     The painting belongs to a private investment collection, but was exhibited at the Musée d’Orsay in 2007.

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