The Meeting Bonjour Monsieur Courbet Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)

Description of Gustave Courbet’s "Hello, Monsieur Courbet" (1854)

At the Paris exhibition, the realist painting was an event. The artist felt himself to be a pioneer, making the central subject of his works of art his contemporaries engaged in mundane activities. What makes his canvas especially weighty and expressive is that he sees a generalizing meaning in a mundane fact of life. The truthfulness and realism of the painting shocked the public. The artist announced his rejection of the conventions of academic art, historical and literary subjects in favor of real life.

The subject for the canvas was a real-life incident from the life of Courbet himself, who was invited to Montpellier in the spring of 1854 by Alfred Bruyat, a prominent patron of the arts and collector of works of art. He was impressed by Courbet’s paintings and wished to commission a portrait of himself. The artist depicted himself on canvas as he met him on the road to Montpellier with Roy and his servant, accompanied by his dog.

The dust-covered road that winds in a ribbon, the horse-drawn cart visible around the corner, the squalid houses in the distance, the stunted greenery at the edges of the road - everything is painted carefully and in detail. The colors are dim, with lots of light tones. The blue, translucent sky with light clouds floating high above strikes the eye.

The final section of this road Courbet followed on foot. The painter looks like a real traveler, he is dressed on the road - in a light-colored shirt and pants, yellow vest, his shoulders are heavy sketchbook, on which he hung a cloak, in one hand a stick in the other - a hat, removed from his head as a sign of welcome, despite the warm sunny day and the scorching sun.

The poor painter is greeted by an admiring rich patron of the arts, elegantly and fashionably dressed, also leaning on a cane. What the two men (who would later become friends) have in common are similarly shaped but differently colored beards. It is symbolic that the rich collector takes off his hat to the beggar’s talent as a sign of adoration for his talent.