Possibly after Gustave Courbet, 'Young Ladies on the Banks of the Seine (Summer)', possibly 1870s

Young Ladies on the Banks of the Seine (Summer)

Possibly after Gustave Courbet

Not on display

About the work

Overview

Two young women lie by a river. Traditionally, such a scene would be set in an idyllic landscape, with the women as impossibly perfect ideals of youth and beauty, often in the guise of classical nudes – goddesses of Greek mythology. But this pair caused a scandal when a larger version (now in the Musée du Petit Palais, Paris) appeared at the Paris Salon in 1857.

Courbet had subverted the tradition, showing two modern city women in an inappropriate Arcadian setting, one of them, shockingly, in her underwear. To the contemporary bourgeois audience, full nudity would probably have been considered less indecent. The artist’s reputation as a dangerous radical quickly grew.

Courbet made a number of studies for the Salon painting, but it’s not certain if this is one of them or a copy made later by an unknown artist. It would not appear to be in Courbet’s hand, but still holds something of the shock of the original at first view.

In-depth

They appear below us but almost uncomfortably close, filling almost the whole of the frame and making the river and the sketchily painted tree almost incidental. Far from at ease, enjoying a peaceful moment in the countryside, these women are alert and aware. Courbet has made no attempt at flattery. One leans up on one elbow, almost squashing the large, colourful bouquet of flowers under the other. She is fashionably dressed and the hand holding her cheek wears a black lace mitten. Shiny coral beads circle her wrist. She looks back over her ballooning skirts, but although it’s a complacent gaze there is a feeling that she’s watching, and perhaps waiting.

The other woman sprawls out flat, her head on the dress she has taken off and bundled up like a pillow. A soft Indian shawl is spread over her hips and the stiff frills of her petticoats stick up like butterfly wings over her back. To the French bourgeois audience, the removal of the dress was shocking. This showing of the woman’s underwear, and such glamorous underwear too, was outrageous – full nudity would probably have been considered less indecent. But perhaps even worse was her knowing, almost predatory look, faintly amused and blatantly erotic. To the Paris viewers, not only were the women from the city posed in an inappropriate Arcadian setting, there was little doubt as to their profession, and to have them so unashamedly displayed was totally unacceptable.

Courbet was vilified for his choice of subject. He had subverted the accepted portrayal of women in a natural setting: graceful, often fragile and although attractive, basically untouched. Instead, he made his modern women seem far from untouched. This was deemed as Realism at its offensive worst, and Courbet’s reputation as a dangerous radical quickly grew.

The larger version of the painting exhibited at the Salon of 1857 is now in the Musée du Petit Palais, Paris. Courbet made a number of studies for that Salon painting, but it’s not certain if this is one of them or a copy made later by an unknown artist. It would not appear to be in Courbet’s hand, though it still holds something of the shock of the original at first view. There are many opinions as to its origin but none but of them is satisfactory. Versions, studies, sketches and prints of the original painting exist in various galleries and private collections all over the world.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Young Ladies on the Banks of the Seine (Summer)
Artist: Possibly after Gustave Courbet
Artist dates: 1819 - 1877
Date made: possibly 1870s
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 96.5 × 130 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1964
Inventory number: NG6355
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

After Courbet’s death NG 6355 entered the collection of Juliette Courbet (1831–1915), sister of the artist; inherited by two friends whom she nominated her heiresses, Marie‐Louise de Tastes and Félice Lapierre; sold by Marie‐Louise de Tastes to Bernheim‐Jeune, 8 September 1915, their number 20.487, cliché no. 973; sold by them on 5 October 1915 to Denys Cochin (1851–1922), a writer and member of French parliament; bought back from him by Bernheim‐Jeune, 4 January 1917, and sold to the dealer Walther Halvorsen, 28 February 1917 for the Norwegian ship owner Jørgen Breder Stang (1874–1950), Kristiania.

In the 1920s the dealer and gallery owner Alfred Gold (1874–1958), who had a close relationship with Stang, was selling pictures from his collection and perhaps had NG 6355 on commission (it was included in exhibitions held at his gallery, see Gold 1930), but being unable to sell it, returned it to Stang. The Seligmann papers contain a number of letters from Gold to Germain Seligmann regarding the Stang collection, in particular one dated 22 January 1929 regarding Stang’s reductions in price on certain paintings, ‘Manet, Courbet, Corot et peut‐être aussi Renoir’ and a further dated 24 January 1929 stating that he will give a commission of 5 per cent on the paintings that he will have on consignment from Stang. It was in Stang’s collection during and after the Second World War and was given at some point by Stang to his daughter Annie Bergh (1906–1975), or inherited by her on his death, but left her collection at some point between 1957 and 1964; anonymous sale, Sotheby’s, 1 July 1964, lot 75a, where purchased by the National Gallery (Grant‐in‐Aid with a Special Grant and an anonymous contribution).

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Sarah Herring, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings’, vol. 1, ‘The Barbizon School’, London 2019; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2014

Gustave Courbet. Les années suisses

Musée Rath

5 September 2014 - 4 January 2015

Bibliography

1906

G. Riat, Gustave Courbet: Peintre, Paris 1906
1924

R. Hoppe, 'Courbet and His Work in the National Museum (stockholm) and the Northern Collections', Nationalmusei Årsbok, 6, 1924, pp. 16-48
1929

C. Gronkowski, 'L'Exposition Gustave Courbet au Petit Palais', Gazette des beaux-arts, II, 1929
1930

C. Léger, Ausstellung Gustave Courbet (exh. cat., Galerie Wertheim, Berlin), Berlin 1930
1951

G. Mack, Gustave Courbet, Westport, Connecticut 1951
1957

S. Kahn and M. Ecalle, 'Les Demoiselles des Bords de la Seine', Bulletin des amis de Gustave Courbet, 19, Ornans 1957
1965

The National Gallery, The National Gallery: June 1962 - December 1964, London 1965
1970

Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
1977

R. Fernier, La vie et l'oeuvre de Gustave Courbet: Catalogue raisonné, 2 vols, Paris 1977
1978

H. Toussaint et al., Gustave Courbet 1819-1877 (exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts, London), London 1978
1988

S. Faunce and L. Nochlin, Courbet Reconsidered, (exh. cat. Brooklyn Museum, 4 November 1988 - 16 January 1989), New York 1988
1991

K. Herding, Courbet: To Venture Independent, New Haven 1991
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2004

A. Holleczek et al, Französische Kunst, deutsche Perspektiven, 1870-1945: Quellen und Kommentare zur Kunstkritik, Berlin 2004
2019

Herring, Sarah, National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings, 1, The Barbizon School, London 2019

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

Related works

(Showing 6 of 8 works)

In the Forest

Gustave Courbet

A few rays of sunlight break through the canopy of this tranquil forest, reflecting off the surface of a small pool and the nearby trees. A hind is visible at the water’s edge, head bent down to drink, while a stag rests on the grass in the foreground.Although he was regarded as an accomplished l...

On display elsewhere

Still Life with Apples and a Pomegranate

Gustave Courbet

In a warm and dark room, Courbet’s rich, ripe apples seem to glow as if in firelight. The heavy earthenware bowl lined with pale blue slip seems almost too small for the weight of the fruit piled into it. Among them is a single pomegranate, squeezed in at the base of the heap.In 1871 Courbet was...

Room 25

The Diligence in the Snow

Gustave Courbet

The high viewpoint in this painting opens up the prospect of the vast distance, heightening its very real feeling of terror – yet the viewpoint also places us at a safe distance from the scene, without it losing its hold. The chaos of the overturned coach, the rearing horse and the bodies flailin...

On display elsewhere

View of Lac Léman

Gustave Courbet

Turbulent grey clouds roll across the sky. The lake beneath it is calm, but a storm threatens. It’s evening, and a tiny sailing boat in the distance is little more than a smudge on the horizon against the vivid orange and gold of the dying sun. Soft red reflections streak the surface of the water...

Not on display

Landscape

Style of Gustave Courbet

Although inscribed G. Courbet, there is little reason to believe this is a work by Gustave Courbet, or even by one of his collaborators. The painting was previously titled L’Orage (The Storm) because of the dark grey cloud that looms over the landscape. Despite the area of bright blue sky on the...

Not on display

The Pool

Style of Gustave Courbet

In July 1873 Courbet fled France for Switzerland and settled in the town of La Tour-de-Peilz on the north shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), near the French border. A label on the back of this view of a lush Alpine valley gives the location as Vevey, on the north shore of the lake and close to La...

On display elsewhere

The Sea near Palavas

Style of Gustave Courbet

This is a view of the coast at Palavas-les-Flots, a fishing village south of Montpellier. The picture is similar to seascapes that Gustave Courbet painted there during his several visits to Montpellier in the 1850s. In particular, there are resemblances to his small painting The Seaside at Pala...

Not on display

The Man with the Leather Belt: Portrait of the Artist

After Gustave Courbet

From around 1842 and into the 1850s Courbet painted about 20 self portraits in which he presented himself in different guises. This portrait is a reduced version of The Man with the Leather Belt (Musée d’Orsay, Paris), which Courbet painted around 1845–6.Courbet painted replicas of at least three...

On display elsewhere

You've viewed 6 of 8 works

Possibly after Gustave Courbet, 'Young Ladies on the Banks of the Seine (Summer)', possibly 1870s

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

Related works