PRESS RELEASE COURBET Bicentenary In 2019, the Doubs celebrates its native son www.musee-courbet.fr COURBET BICENTENARY / THE DOUBS CELEBRATES ITS NATIVE SON 1 2 COURBET BICENTENARY / THE DOUBS CELEBRATES ITS NATIVE SON CONTENTS 1. In 2019, the Doubs celebrates the two hundredth anniversary 4 of Gustave Courbet 2. A series of multidisciplinary events open to all 6 2.1 Noteworthy highlights of the Courbet Bicentenary 6 - Three new exhibitions at the Courbet Museum in Ornans - An international symposium - A concert at the Arc-et-Senans Royal Saltworks 2.2 Places to meet and discover, 9 in the footsteps of Courbet 2.3 A rich and varied programme, 12 throughout 2019, for all tastes 3. Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), devoted to freedom and his roots 14 4. Images available to the press 20 Louis-Edmond Cougny (1831-1900) Courbet Seated, Palette in Hand Circa 1855 - Terracotta Ornans, musée Gustave Courbet © Musée Gustave Courbet, photo: Pierre Guenat Cover L. Durand et Cie Courbet Converses With Himself Circa 1863 Duplicate Ornans, musée Gustave Courbet © Musée Gustave Courbet, photo: Pierre Guenat COURBET BICENTENARY / THE DOUBS CELEBRATES ITS NATIVE SON 3 1. In 2019, the Doubs celebrates the two hundredth anniversary of Gustave Courbet. "When I am dead, let this be said of me: he belonged to no school, to no church, to no institution, to no academy, least of all to any regime except the regime of liberty." Gustave Courbet, Can Art Be Taught?, 1861 These words paint the portrait of a fiercely independent man, a particular characteristic found in his artistic philosophy, his political engagement and his private life. ustave Courbet was born in Ornans on 10 June G1819. To pay tribute to the illustrious painter, the Doubs Department has decided to make 2019 The swallow, a year of celebration - the "Courbet Bicentenary" - by mobilising all the drive and energy of the re- gion. Through this wide-ranging project, everyone symbol of is invited to (re)discover Courbet and to explore both his creative genius and his deep-rooted at- freedom tachment to his native land. Visitors will be able to see just how much the leader of the Realism move- A swallow has been chosen as the em- ment and his work were inspired by the landscapes blem of the "Courbet Bicentenary", re- of the Doubs, in particular the valley and source of flecting the artist's fierce independence the River Loue, its little villages and its inhabitants. in his artistic philosophy, political en- gagement and private life. We know that The Courbet Bicentenary programme is managed Courbet himself loved this bird symbol- by a committee of institutional and cultural stake- ising freedom, as painted swallows were holders. Consisting of around a hundred artistic and discovered in his studio in Ornans when celebratory projects spread across the department, the Department of Doubs purchased it the programme is intended to be multidisciplinary, in 2008. This vast space with dark walls stimulating, varied and open to everyone. - which allowed him to concentrate on his work - opened onto a ceiling painted with a clear sky where swallows skimmed through the air, as if to announce the spring. 4 COURBET BICENTENARY / THE DOUBS CELEBRATES ITS NATIVE SON While the whole of "Courbet Country" is The programme of events and leisure central to the Bicentenary, the Courbet activities will be complemented by Museum will of course act as an essen- numerous projects led both by the tial link, hosting three key events to Department and local organisations. mark 2019: The Courbet Farm in Flagey owned by the Courbet family and where the painter often stayed, A first to launch the season: the exhibition will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2019 and Courbet: The Drawings, from 15 February to 29 offer an exceptional events programme through- April 2019. out the year. This will revolve around by a major exhibition dedicated to Léon Isabey, an architect A second, the high point of the Bicentenary, and friend of Courbet, six artist residencies, and will coincide with Courbet's birthday on 10 two days of artistic and creative cross-disciplinary June 2019: the opening of the exhibition improvisation. Yan Pei-Ming Faces Courbet (from 10 June to 30 September 2019). This exhibition will compare the The four seasons of the Department (Digital Sea- works of the Ornans painter with those of a figure son, Spring of Amateurs, Artist Residencies, Com- from the world of international contemporary art, mon Heritage) will take their themes from the the Franco-Chinese artist Yan Pei-Ming, who will be Courbet Bicentenary; for example, a digital instal- in residence from March 2019 in Courbet's recently lation with Gustave Courbet as its subject, a Spring restored last studio in Ornans. of Amateurs dedicated to the painter, and one of the artist residencies to be held during the summer And to close this Courbet season, works by the will also focus on the artist. painter will be exhibited alongside those of his contemporary, the Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler, The Departmental Archives will host the exhibition in the exhibition Courbet/Hodler which runs from Archives and Landscapes exploring how landscapes 31 October 2019 to 5 January 2020. evolve over time. The Departmental Multimedia Library will host initiatives to help visitors rediscover and reappro- Other special events will be held to priate Courbet. mark 2019, and will appeal to Courbet fans around the world: And many different institutions, companies and ex- perts will lead dozens of artistic, scientific, cultural, An international scientific symposium, 1819-2019: sporting and celebratory projects, for both young Courbet From Another Angle, organised by the and old, whether experienced or beginners. Department of Doubs and Town Council of Ornans in collaboration with the University of Besançon, on 27, 28 and 29 June 2019, will suggest a new approach to Gustave Courbet and his influence on Celebrating Courbet with a special events the art of his time and of today. programme to mark the bicentenary of his birth is not an end in itself. The Department of Doubs L’Orchestre des Nations conducted by Jordi Savall, will continue to mobilise its resources around in residence at the Arc-et-Senans Royal Saltworks, this immense artistic figure as it has done for will perform a concert as part of the Bicentenary several years: for example, restoration of the programme. This will be held on 3 September at Courbet Museum, purchase and redevelopment the Arc-et-Senans Royal Saltworks. of the family farm in Flagey, purchase of the painter's last studio in Ornans, creation of walk- ing trails, etc. Thanks to our "ethnopôle" status, unique in France for a fine arts hub, and Courbet Country programming which links all these sites into one and the same project of cultural and scien- tific discovery, 2019 is the perfect time for audi- ences from every walk of life to come stroll "the paths of Courbet", and explore iconic places and objects which inspired a huge body of work. COURBET BICENTENARY / THE DOUBS CELEBRATES ITS NATIVE SON 5 2. A series of multidisciplinary events open to all. "We must drag art down from its pedestal, for too long painters, even my contempo- raries, have based their art on ideas and stereotypes." Letter to Francis and Marie Wey, 26 November 1849 2.1 Noteworthy highlights of the Courbet Bicentenary. Three exhibitions premiere at The aim of this exhibition, and the accompanying catalogue, is therefore to: the Courbet Museum in Ornans. Initiate research into the graphic work of Gustave Courbet. Courbet: The Drawings, Clarify the many questions on the authenticity from 15 February to 29 April 2019 and provenance of the drawings. Reconsider the importance of the practice of drawing for Courbet. The inaugural exhibition of the Bicentenary, Offer insights into a collection of previously Courbet: The Drawings, is based on a group of unseen drawings. around twenty previously unseen drawings from a private collection. These pictures were left in Cour- The results of the research carried out in the context bet's estate and form a controversial but particu- of this exhibition will be published in a reference larly interesting area of study. Mainly consisting of work with a preface by Louis-Antoine Prat and with landscapes, the set of drawings once belonged to contributions from leading Courbet specialists. the Genevan painter Émile Chambon, a great ad- mirer of Courbet who also produced tribute paint- The exhibition will also be held at the Musée Jenish ings to him, several of which will also be shown in in Vevey (Switzerland) in the autumn of 2019. the exhibition. Philippe Clerc, a Swiss art historian and researcher at the Chambon Foundation in General curatorship: Geneva, will explain the results of his research and Frédérique Thomas-Maurin, offer new insight on this collection. Chief Curator and Director of the Gustave Courbet Museum; assisted by Lonnie Baverel and Séverine Petit, The exhibition will also include around twenty project managers at the Courbet Museum. drawings from major public collections. A number Scientific curatorship: Niklaus Manuel Güdel, of paintings will also be on display to allow a better Director of the Jura Brüschweiler Archives, assisted understanding of the role of drawing in Courbet's by Anne-Sophie Poirot. work. Gustave Courbet Drawing, a founding theme in Courbet's Lovers in the Countryside work 1867 (detail) This is the first-ever exhibition devoted solely to Ink on paper Ornans, musée Gustave Courbet's drawings. The reason for this is Gustave Courbet twofold: not many of the painter's drawings sur- © Musée Gustave Courbet, vive, and a vast controversy divided specialists in photo: Pierre Guenat the 1980s over the authenticity of a set of drawings from the Fonds Reverdy.