Gustave Courbet must have been the most arrogant man in France. He was a painter of a great talent, that's true - but he also had a unique need to cause scandals. As he said once: "I painted the picture so that it would be refused. I have succeeded. That way it will bring me some money". The self-portrait we present to you today depicts several late-romantic personae: dandy, dreamer, vagabond and madman.


The Desperate Man
oil on canvas • 45 × 55 cm