Gustave Courbet - The Stone Breakers (#5)

   In 19th century France the styles of Neoclassicism and Romanticism were in full swing and highly adored by many. Although known as two of the most important phases in Art History in which both idealize and romanticism everyday life, and create images that are beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, Gustave Courbet had no issue with rejecting these major styles. By rejecting these styles he became known as the father of another major influential movement in art history, Realism. Rather than focusing on the delights of everyday life, and emphasizing imagination Realism focuses on exactly what is sounds like, reality. Realism paintings depict images observations and direct experiences, which then leads to peasants and the working class being in most paintings of this kind. Courbet's images were usually meant to reveal the horror of peasant life, and show the upper class the difficulties they go through. By depicting the struggles that these people would endure, Courbet hoped to evoke an emotional reaction from the audience that would give the upper class a certain empathy towards the working class. This image is the perfect example of how Courbet attempted to exactly that.
   In France stone breaking was a job reserved for the poorest or the poor. This was rough, back breaking work that paid very little. By dressing the two men in tattered and dirty clothing you begin to get the impression that they are not wealthy. By depicting both men in agony and struggling to complete their work the reader begins to feel empathy for the workers. This image also tells a story that aids to the evoking of emotion from the audience. This story involves the two men, one elderly men and a younger man at the beginning of his life. By showing the two different types of men not only does the audience feel sadness for the exhausted and hopeless elderly man that is struggling to even complete the work, the audience's emotion becomes even deeper when they realize that the feeble man is what the strong young man is destined to become. This image not only shows the difficulties of the work the working class must do to survive but also reveals the vicious cycle created by the poverty in 19th century France. If you are poor you must endure tedious, back breaking working only to just make ends meet until you eventually reach the end of your life where your children will live exactly the same way.
   Because of the poverty in the working class this painting was clearly not created for them. It was created to be an advocate of the horrible life they endure, but was created to be purchased and seen by the upper class. This was done in hopes of raising awareness of the poverty in the lower classes, that could possibly lead to the upper classes coming to the aid of the working class hopefully to alleviate some of their burden and help them to become more successful in life and hopefully break the vicious cycle of poverty.

Jessica Edwards