Courbet, Gustave (1819-1877)
La Vallée d’Ornans (The Valley of Ornans)
1858
Oil on canvas, 59.7 x 85.4 cm
Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis
Two disparate expanses of terrain – one infused with afternoon sunlight, the other in shadow – converge in a dramatic composition of geometrical shapes. Gustave Courbet‘s bold use of the palette knife to apply paint and his rejection of fussy details lend the work a quality of rugged strength.
Courbet painted numerous views of his birth town Ornans, located in the region of Franche-Comté in Eastern France. The area’s robust and dramatic topography inspired the artist, and served as a guiding force in his painting. (SLAM)