Portrait of Gustave Courbet
Original title: Portrait of Gustave Courbet
kurzbeschreibung
In 1878 Marcellin Desboutin made a drypoint portrait of the painter Gustave Courbet, shown as a bust. The print is executed as a drypoint, an intaglio technique.
Description
The sitter has a full beard and thick hair; his shirt has open sleeves and an open collar. Head and upper body sit in the middle and form the focal point. The background stays empty, with no props or other figures. Grey tones dominate, and the light falls evenly, avoiding hard shadows.
Context
The portrait was made in 1878, a year after Courbet's death (1877 in Swiss exile). Courbet is one of the main representatives of Realism. Desboutin, himself a painter and printmaker, often portrayed fellow artists; the etching can be seen as a homage to the deceased.
Impact
The precise rendering of beard and hair gives the print liveliness and intimacy. Because the background recedes, attention goes entirely to the person. The drypoint technique produces soft lines that are characteristic of the print.
Technique
Drypoint is made by scratching the drawing directly into the copper plate; this creates fine yet strong lines. The plate measures 15.6 × 11.7 cm, while the paper size is larger at 44.2 × 35.2 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)