This picture has become a significant milestone in the career of the artist and largely determined the fate of the fine arts in general.
About thirty years the picture had been available for viewing only to painter’s friends. The work was too revolutionary, unusual and provocative for the public. Other artists treated it differently from admiration and brilliant prophecies to curses and total disregard. Critics have called it "the sign for a brothel".
This nude statue of famous writer and philosopher was too naturalistic for its time. Pigalle had been working on the sculptural portrait for six years.
Inherent in the ancient statues "heroic nudity" was united with a realistic image of an old man with unattractive flabby body and an ironic, …show more content…
Nude Voltaire had become the subject of numerous mockeries and epigrams. The sculpture had been forgotten for many years and only in the XX century Pigalle’s work was appreciated.
Exhibitions of his paintings were constantly accompanied by juicy scandals – the desire of the artist to portray life in all its unsightly nakedness led to allegations of excessive naturalism and the glorification of ugliness. Courbet’s painting caused outrage of ordinary citizens and even the emperor.
"The Bathers" has broken several common rules at once. Naked woman looked too realistic. Given that before nudity could appear only in mythological paintings and nudity and postures of characters were to be motivated by the subject, nakedness of bathers seemed vulgar, crude and unjustified.
Moreover, her pose resembled a posture typical for Mary Magdalene at the time of the meeting with the resurrected Christ. In this sense, the Courbet’s interpretation looks blasphemous.
The shocking realism of Courbet’s works was shown in the naturalistic details – many visitors resented not very clean cape on bather’s thighs and dirty feet of a seated woman. After that, no one paid any attention on the masterfully painted landscape, as well as other
About thirty years the picture had been available for viewing only to painter’s friends. The work was too revolutionary, unusual and provocative for the public. Other artists treated it differently from admiration and brilliant prophecies to curses and total disregard. Critics have called it "the sign for a brothel".
This nude statue of famous writer and philosopher was too naturalistic for its time. Pigalle had been working on the sculptural portrait for six years.
Inherent in the ancient statues "heroic nudity" was united with a realistic image of an old man with unattractive flabby body and an ironic, …show more content…
Nude Voltaire had become the subject of numerous mockeries and epigrams. The sculpture had been forgotten for many years and only in the XX century Pigalle’s work was appreciated.
Exhibitions of his paintings were constantly accompanied by juicy scandals – the desire of the artist to portray life in all its unsightly nakedness led to allegations of excessive naturalism and the glorification of ugliness. Courbet’s painting caused outrage of ordinary citizens and even the emperor.
"The Bathers" has broken several common rules at once. Naked woman looked too realistic. Given that before nudity could appear only in mythological paintings and nudity and postures of characters were to be motivated by the subject, nakedness of bathers seemed vulgar, crude and unjustified.
Moreover, her pose resembled a posture typical for Mary Magdalene at the time of the meeting with the resurrected Christ. In this sense, the Courbet’s interpretation looks blasphemous.
The shocking realism of Courbet’s works was shown in the naturalistic details – many visitors resented not very clean cape on bather’s thighs and dirty feet of a seated woman. After that, no one paid any attention on the masterfully painted landscape, as well as other