Orsay

The origin of the world

Gustave Courbet. 1866

Gustave Courbet is the first realist. Concept created by himself to define his vision of how art should interpret the world. A raw look, where the body is real, skin and bones, violence is overwhelming and nature is wild. A vision clearly antagonistic to the Venus de Cabanel and closer to the Olympia de Manet, but with an emphasis more linked to the frankness of the image than to the use of color.

The Origin of the World is such a frank and beautifully executed work that manages to fascinate by presenting the female anatomy without any mythological, literary or historical excuse and it is surprising that to this day, more than 150 years after its first presentation, this painting continues provoking controversy and technological platforms such as Facebook and the one you are using at this moment, censor this work. It is impossible not to think of how surprised Courbet would be to see this.