Courbet

Gustave Courbet once said that, "Fine art is knowledge made visible." I sketched one of my favorite Courbet paintings, "The Wounded Man," in an attempt to start drawing again on a more frequent basis.

My version looks like a very tired male figure skater. Thank you recent olympics for providing me with the knowledge of what one looks like. Needs something shiny. Gustave Courbet would turn in his grave if this sketch was finished with glitter. So, I refrain from doing so, even though he has a faint semblance to a gaunt Elvis Presley. In which case, glitter would be suitable although still aesthetically distasteful.

Considered a genius, not only because he had the uncanny ability to realistically paint 19th century prostitute genitalia, but also due to his well maintained coiffure and Rasputin beard. That tidbit is, of course, immaterial. Like this post. Courbet was never one who wanted to please and often associated his art with anarchism. In doing so, he gained an audience.

Maybe it's not so controversial now, with the advent of Reality TV and photos of naked famous people on the Huffington Post, but Courbet's work is still beautiful to some. Check it out.