Woman with parrot Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)

Description of Gustave Courbet’s painting "Woman with Parrot" (1866)

The painting was presented at the Paris Salon in 1866 and was an instant success with viewers, who have always been attracted to the beauty of the nude female body. It has been suggested that the sitter was an Irish woman who served as a model for the painter’s other canvases as well.

The entire foreground of the painting is occupied by a young girl with her curly dark hair carelessly spread out on a bed. She lies on her back, slightly turned half-turned and covered a small part of her leg with a snow-white folded blanket. Her left arm is raised and gracefully turned backside up, a brightly colored bird crouched on it, its wings wide open, as if ready to fly away at any moment, or wishing to tell the beauty something.

To the right of the bed is a shiny metal parrot stand. The artist realistically conveyed the luster and halftones of the polished copper. Courbet in his works explored the ordinary pictures of life, freeing them from various philosophical, moral, political considerations, schemes, and conventions. Behind the woman, the elaborately painted antique rug can be seen, but it is in shadow and its pattern is barely indicated to create the impression of half-darkness in a room where the only bright spot is the beautiful woman’s body. It is as if the glowing delicate skin is strikingly natural and pure.

The girl does not arouse rude emotions. Her beauty gives rise to admiration, not lust. She is neither a servant nor a slave, nor a romantic character. She is a guileless, ordinary girl, lounging lazily and lonely and playing with her lover. The coloring can hardly be called diverse: it is reduced to a minimum of key tones. White, green and warm brown prevail. The only tiny bright accent is the plumage of the bird. Against the dark background of the carpet with barely visible ornaments and the landscape barely translucent in the distance, the naked body of the girl stands out even more effectively. It radiates a relaxed and instinctive passion, which the artist has managed to convey with talent. Critics have noticed that the heroine of the picture looks very modern and called her "a real living Frenchwoman.