Interview

JS: Hello, and welcome, today I’ll be interviewing a very well known painter, Mr.Gustave Courbet! Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule for this interview.

GC: Not a problem.

JS: So here’s the first question- your art is very distinct for your time, what inspired you to paint like this?

GC: Ah, that is simple, rebellion. I wanted to disregard the government- break traditions. I wanted to show people how nature truly is. Nature is not simple and fine. Nature is… harsh. It is irregular.

JS: And does this rebellion have anything to do with your parents?

GC: Yes, I suppose you could say. My parents wanted me to study law- but I ignored them. I vowed that I would lead a life of a rebel- of a savage. And I suppose I really did turn out like that. Hahaha…

JS: Hahaha. So was there anyone whom you didn’t rebel against? A mentor? What impact did these people have on your life?

GC: Well I did have some mentors- but then again I suppose I was my own mentor. I studied under Baron Charles von Steuben. The Dutch painters Rembrandt, Chardin, and Hals also inspired me.

JS: What do you mean by “I was my own mentor”?

GC: I think that- while Steuben taught me a great deal of things, I think that I learned most by copying and studying other paintings.

JS: What type of paintings did you look at? Did you look at a specific style?

GC:  I was very interested in Italian, Spanish and Dutch paintings.

JS: I know that art at the time you started painting was very different then what you made, but exactly how different?

GC: Very. It was filled with historicism, that is to say, they only painted the past. As I once said: “the art of painting can only consist of the representation of objects which are visible and tangible for the artist” ("Rehs Galleries, Inc.") Exhibitions didn’t accept my accept my paintings- it didn’t fit their style.

JS: And this angered you?

GC: It dumbfounded me. It drove me to the point where I made my own pavilions to display my paintings! But eventually three years later I made a painting which they accepted.

JS: The Self-Portrait with Black Dog?

GC: Yes.

JS: And how was the world itself when you started painting, politically?

GC: I never agreed with the world politically. My grandfather had fought in the French Revolution and my involvements in small revolutions have ended up imprisoning me.

JS: And what about economically?

GC: A mess. Workers were poor and treated like dirt. I think my painting The Stone Breakers best describes this. Personally I was low on funds. The reason I made so many self-portraits was because I didn’t have the money to pay for models.

JS: Culturally?

GC:  Hmmm… I greatly enjoyed the works of the Dutch masters- they greatly inspired me.

JS: And what techniques did you use in your art?

GC: I did something that not many painters do. I am very physical with my paintings. I often stroke the painting using rags. I even use my bare hands on it.

JS: And why do you do that?

GC: I think the canvas should be treated like a human. The canvas should be caressed. The canvas should be kneaded. The canvas should even be attacked. This gives the painting life and makes distinct shapes.

JS: What opportunities have you had through your life that has brought you where you are now?

GC: Well I think one of the greatest opportunities I have had was my parents letting me leave the career in law and allowing me to become the adventurer that I am. If it weren’t for that I would not have become the artist I am today. After all thanks to my journeys I was inspired to show what I have seen.

JS: And from there on you were fascinated with the arts?

GC: Correct.

JS: What Hardships did you face on the road to becoming an artist?

GC: College. “I went to the Collège de Besançon where I learned to despise teaching…I learned the least I could so as not to burden my head with things useless to me.” ("Rehs Galleries, Inc.")

JS: You purposely didn’t pay attention?

GC: Of course! Why fill my head with that nonsense! The food in Besançon was terrible. And the rooms- Oh, the rooms! They were cold and decrepit. Oh, how I missed my home. Finally my parents let me study at the art academy.

JS: Well then what limited you as an artist, or better yet, as a person?

GC: I was limited by how people thought of realism.  It took a while before people could accept realism and me.

JS: People were caught up with other forms of art?

GC: Of course. They weren’t ready for realism.

JS: Hahaha. So it appears it’s almost time for me to go, but before that are there any anecdotes you’d like to share that show how you’ve gotten to where you are?

GC: Rebellion and freedom are most important.  As I have said in one of the letters I sent to a friend of mine: “I am fifty years old and I have always lived in freedom; let me end my life free; when I am dead let this be said of me: 'He belonged to no school, to no church, to no institution, to no academy, least of all to any régime except the régime of liberty” (Courbet) My sense of a free spirit has taught me to follow my own ideas and thanks to that I have started an entire movement.

JS: Thank you for your time. Salut!

GC: Au revoir et salut.

Bibliography

Berman, Avis. "Larger than Life." Smithsonian April 2008: n. pag. Web. 25 Feb 2011.

John, Golding. "The Born Rebel Artist." New York Review of Books 17 April 2008: n. pag. Web. 25 Feb 2011.

Rosenthal, Donald. "Gustave Courbet." Discover France. Art History Publishing Association, 1997. Web. 25 Feb 2011.

Courbet, Gustave. Letters of Gustave Courbet. 1st ed. U.S.: Universty of Chicago Press, 1992. Print.

"Self-portrait with Black Dog." Web. 25 Feb 2011.

"The Stone Breakers." Web. 25 Feb 2011

Bénédite, Léonce. Gustave Courbet. 1st ed. U.S.: W. Heinemann, 1912. Print.

Nochlin, Linda. Courbet. Annoted. U.S.: Thames & Hudson, 2007. Print.

"Gustave Courbet." Rehs Galleries, Inc.. Rehs Galleries, Inc., 2011. Web. 25 Feb 2011.

Perl, Jed. "Gustave Courbet." Artchive. Artchive, n.d. Web. 25 Feb 2011.