Description
Courbet was still working on this large landscape, intended for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1879, when he died in December 1877. He painted it during his exile in Switzerland, where he had fled after being condemned for subversive activities in the Paris Commune of 1871. The view looks south over Lake Geneva toward the mountains called Les Dents du Midi. While some areas are heavily worked with a palette knife, the lower right remains unfinished.
Provenance
Juliette Courbet [1831-1915], sister of the artist, by descent to Mmes de Tastes and Lapierre (?-1915); Mmes de Tastes and Lapierre (1915-1919); (Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, France, July 9, 1919 (lot 12), La Dent du Midi, sold to Galerie Barbazanges) (1919); (Galerie Barbazanges, Paris, France) (1919); Mrs. Hennet Collection, Paris, France; Private collection, Paris, France; (Hirschl & Adler, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?-1964); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1964-)
Accession Number
1964.420
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
Framed: 172 x 230 x 8.5 cm (67 11/16 x 90 9/16 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 151.2 x 210.2 cm (59 1/2 x 82 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund and various donors by exchange
