"The Origin of the World" - a painting by Gustave Courbet

"The origin of the world" - a picture of Courbet, scandalous and shocking. She had a very restless fate, changing the owners, and has not been exhibited for a long time.

Plot

It's worth starting with him, for it's all about him. Already one name sounds provocative: Genesis, or the Origin of the World, or just sex. It was to this that the artist offered to look. It depicts the faceless torso of an anonymous woman with a blasphemous open pubic and vulva. Even today the picture inevitably continues to bother the viewer. And morally, and aesthetically, and politically. People in front of the picture are embarrassed. After all, the work is full-scale. And her gross sensuality is extremely strong. However, the unobtrusive roundness of the abdomen indicates the birth of a new life. That is, the artist tried to mix the depravity and fertility.

The Kurbe shocked society in the 19th century. The canvas continues to cause negative reactions to this day. The artist shows the reality without embellishment, such as it is. This is the position of a woman in sex. But he does not allow her to identify without drawing her head. That is, it is a collective image of a woman on a dark background and white sheet. In addition to the pubis and slightly ajar nipple, there is nothing more to look at. That's what shocking, annoying, and causes disgust.

Supposed models

The artist deliberately concealed the woman's face, creating a generalized image. But they assumed that it was written, and then cut off. However, later studies rejected this opinion. When Courbet painted the painting, then his constant model was Johanna Heffernan. There is quite a decent portrait of her brush Courbet, which is in the US.

But she was the beloved disciple of Courbet. He abruptly ceased all relations with the artist after the appearance of this impudent canvas. Here is how the disciple of Courbet portrayed her.

As a "Symphony in White No. 1" or as "A Girl in White". If one perceives the model in this way, the "Origin of the World" (Courbet's picture) will be really blasphemous and disgusting, which, in fact, is really so. There is one more presumed model - the Countess Luane.

But this, too, has no exact proof. In this respect, the "Origin of the World", the picture of Courbet, is very mysterious.

Owners

Life of the canvas was meandering. The first owner in 1866 was a Turkish diplomat who hung it in the bathroom, hiding behind a green curtain. In 1868, "The Origin of the World" (painting Courbet) falls into the gallery, more precisely in the antique store of Mr. Narde. Presumably, from 1912 to 1913, she changes the hosts (Bernheim) and finally gets to Hungary to Mr. Hatvani. He, too, is hidden from prying eyes. But during the Second World War its tracks disappear.

In 1955, "The Origin of the World" (the picture of Courbet) emerges in the house of psychoanalyst Jacques Lochana. The previous owner is unknown. There it is also kept secret. Above it hang another cloth. From 1981 to 1995, negotiations are under way to buy the canvas and transfer it to the Orsay Museum in France, where it is still under bulletproof glass.

Style direction

Courbé began to work, denying academicism in painting. After a period of realism, he moved on to that direction in literature and painting, which is called naturalism. The brightest representatives of this trend in literature were Emile Zola and the brothers E. and J. Goncourt. They were contemporaries of Courbet. In accordance with their ideas, under the influence of Spencer's works, the picture "The Origin of the World" is being comprehended. Gustave Courbet abolishes all taboo concepts, causing an outburst of resentment.

Maxim Du Camp, writer, poet and critic, resented even fifteen years later: "This is a worthy illustration of the works of the Marquis de Sade." Such emotions evoked the picture "The Origin of the World" (1866). Courbet Gustave quite consciously worked in this direction in an unbiased image of the physiological manifestations of human relationships ("Sleeping", "Turkish Bath"). Courbet as an artist-naturalist seeks to turn a person inside out, find in him what he does not suspect, spy on him in the keyhole, viewed under a microscope. It is precisely this difference that exists between healthy realism, which evokes sympathy, and healthy, albeit not always joyful, emotions, and naturalism, which shows too much attention to physiology. Thus, Courbet's work led to the sexual revolution that came later. But the task that he set himself - the accuracy of the image - is now being carried out by the camera. Apparently, he himself believed, getting scandal for the scandal, he took place as an artist. But Courbet received neither the recognition of his contemporaries, nor money.

Who is interested in Courbet

Courbet died in poverty. "The origin of the world" - a picture for a narrow circle of admirers. It is organic for the concept of naturalism (sexual intercourse, the birth of a child). Attention of a person thinking about the main issues - about why we live and what will happen later, it will not attract. But these questions necessarily every once in a lifetime every person is asked.