Courbet's Burial at Ornans
Gustave Courbet, A Burial at Ornans, begun late summer 1849, completed 1850,
exhibited at the Salon of 1850-51, 124 x 260 inches, oil on canvas
(Musée d'Orsay, Paris)
Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
Where and When
Ornans, France
1849-50
1849-50
Your Comments (1)
Previous Comments
Aaron L. wrote on Monday, April 09, 2012
Notice also how the rise and fall of the landscape mirrors the rise and fall of the gathering of people, suggesting a relationship all people have to the earth. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. It is a powerful expression of our identity with the earth, our inability to rise above our mortality, the sad reality of our lot in life as inheritors of the Fall. Juxtiposed against this sight, however, is the cross of Christ, which is the only element that rises above the earthly as an expression of the immortal, the hope of salvation, etc.
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