Courbet’s Landscape with Anthropomorphic Rocks (1873)
It does not take a genius to recognize that Courbet has turned the rock at left into a human face with water sprouting from the mouth. A rock facing it, just to right of the center, only partly lit, is also a face. The presence of these heads is so obvious that they are acknowledged in the title that the art world has given the painting. Does this not mean, however, that Courbet might have done something similar but less obviously in other landscapes as well? It certainly suggests that his art does not copy nature as was long believed by those who called him a Realist. Indeed, like all great masters before him regardless of their style, Courbet portrays himself by fusing the exterior scene with the inner workings of his mind.
Courbet, Landscape with Anthropomorphic Rocks (1873) Oil on canvas. Private Collection.
Click image to enlarge.
Similar landscapes by Leonardo, Corot and Van Gogh can be seen on this website.
More Works by Courbet
Find out how the colloquial term for a female rider inspired an artist
Courbet’s Woman in a Riding Habit or The Amazon (1856)
Notes:
Publication Date: 11 May 2010
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