Self-Portrait with Upraised Arm
ca. 1840
Medium
Black and white chalk over graphite on papier bleuté, relined.
Dimensions
13 7/8 × 11 1/2 in. (35.2 × 29.2 cm) Framed: 24 × 18 in. (61 × 45.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.589
Tags
About this artwork
This powerful self-portrait captures Gustave Courbet at approximately twenty-four years old, already displaying the bold artistic confidence that would make him a leader of the Realist movement. Executed in black and white chalk over graphite on blue paper, the drawing demonstrates Courbet's masterful handling of tonal contrasts and his commitment to unflinching self-examination. The upraised arm creates dynamic tension within the composition while showcasing Courbet's study of dramatic gesture ...
Art Historical Context
In this striking self-portrait from around 1840, Gustavebet, then about 24 years old, captures his own bold presence with an upraised arm that injects dynamic tension into the composition. Created during his early years in Paris, where he immersed himself in studying old masters at the Louvre, drawing reveals a young artist honing his skills while forging a revolutionary path. As a pioneer of Realism, Courbet rejected idealized academic art in favor of unflinching honesty, and this work foreshadows his later masterpieces that shocked the Paris salons. Executed in black and white chalk over gr...
About the Artist
Gustave Courbet · 1819–1877
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) was a French painter who revolutionized 19th-century art as the founding figure of the Realism movement. Born in Ornans, a small town in the Doubs region of France, Courbet came from a prosperous farming family with anti-monarchical roots—his maternal grandfather had participated in the French Revolution. This background shaped his lifelong commitment to dep...