Village Edge in Winter, Gustave Courbet
Gustave Courbet
Village Edge in Winter
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Gustave Courbet

Village Edge in Winter, ca. 1868


Dimensions
44.5 x 54.0 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
1406
Acquisition
Acquired in 1906 as a gift from the Benedikt Goldschmidt heirs
Status
On display, 1st upper level, Modern Art, room 4

Texts

About the Work

An invitation to discomfort. Following a diagonal path, the viewer’s gaze is drawn past the apparently abandoned houses in the sparse, wintry scene. A steep rock massif abruptly cuts off the view. It represents the Jura Mountains, the location of Gustave Courbet’s home town of Ornans. The harshness of the landscape is underlined by the impasto application of paint; the medium is emphasised more than the figurative content. As a landscapist, Courbet served the Impressionists as an important role model. He and Claude Monet met in 1862, and in 1870 Courbet was best man at Monet’s wedding.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Village Edge in Winter
Painter
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert unten rechts: G. Courbet.

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1906 as a gift from the Benedikt Goldschmidt heirs

Work Content

Motifs and References

Iconclass

Primary
  • 23F41 winter landscape; landscape symbolizing winter (the four seasons of the year)
  • 25I241 village street
  • 25I2 village
  • 41A16 rural housing, e.g. country-house, villa, cottage
Secondary
Associative

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
...
Benedikt Moritz Goldschmidt (1831-1906), Frankfurt am Main
Nachlass Benedikt Moritz Goldschmidt, 1906
Schenkung der Erben an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 1906.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.

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Conservation and Restoration

Art-technology findings and/or documentation regarding conservation and restoration are available for this work. If interested, please contact .

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Last update

11.09.2023