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Artist: Gustave Courbet (1819–1877)
Alternative names: Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet
French sculptor, painter and draughtsman
Work location: Paris (1840), Normandy (1841), Netherlands (1846), Germany (1846), Switzerland (1846), Ornans, Montpellier, Étretat (1865), Trouville-sur-Mer (1865), Deauville (1866), Honfleur (between 1850 and 1860), Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer (1867), Switzerland (1873)
Depicted people: Gustave Courbet
Title: The Cellist (Self-portrait)
Object type: Painting
Description: Courbet painted many self-portraits. In the course of the 19th century, self-portraits became increasingly popular. In art circles in Paris, they played a key role in defining the self-image of artists of the era, and in launching artists’ careers on the increasingly competitive art market. In his early self-portraits, Courbet often appears as various theatrical characters – here he is seen in a melancholic, dreamy pose. When The Cellist was shown at the Paris Salon in 1848, the critics noted a resemblance between the claire-obscure of this painting and Rembrandt’s self-portraits.
Date: 1847
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Height: 117 cm (46.1 in). Width: 89 cm (35 in).
Framed: Height: 142 cm (55.9 in). Width: 115 cm (45.3 in). Depth: 13 cm (5.1 in).
Inscriptions (Swedish): Signerad: G. C.
SKU: 274222
