Style of Gustave Courbet, 'The Pool', probably 1870-80
About the work
Overview
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 Tour-de-Peilz. It has also been suggested that the view may be in the upper part of the Gorges de Chauderon, above Montreux, which is further east along the shore.
Although Courbet painted a number of views of the lake and its surroundings, he did not paint this picture. It was instead painted by an assistant, not as a copy of a Courbet but as an independent picture that belongs to a substantial group of Swiss landscapes painted in the style of Courbet. Although it is sometimes possible to identify the assistant who produced a painting, it is not yet possible in this case.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Pool
- Artist
- Style of Gustave Courbet
- Artist dates
- 1819 - 1877
- Date made
- probably 1870-80
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 72.4 × 58.7 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Sir Hugh Lane Bequest, 1917, The National Gallery, London. In partnership with Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.
- Inventory number
- NG3243
- Location
- On loan: Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2019 - 2031), Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin, Ireland
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
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
-
2006Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2006 - 2019)Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane31 December 2006 - 18 April 2021
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2021Long Loan to The Hugh Lane (2019 - 2031)Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane24 February 2021 - 23 February 2031
Bibliography
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1924R.R. Tatlock, 'The Tate Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, XLIV/253, 1924
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1932T. Bodkin, Hugh Lane and his Pictures, Dublin 1932
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1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
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1957S. Kahn and M. Ecalle, 'Les Demoiselles des Bords de la Seine', Bulletin des amis de Gustave Courbet, 19, Ornans 1957
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1970Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
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1975K. Herding, 'Egalität und Autorität in Courbet's Landschaftsmalerei', Städel-Jahrbuch, V, 1975, pp. 159-99
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1977R. Fernier, La vie et l'oeuvre de Gustave Courbet: Catalogue raisonné, 2 vols, Paris 1977
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1978M. Brötje, 'Das Bild als Parabel: Sur Landschaftsmalerei Gustave Courbets', Jahrbuch der Hamburger Kunstsammlungen, XXIII, 1978, pp. 75-106
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1981H. Bessis, 'Courbet en Suisse surveillé par la police française', Gazette des beaux-arts, 1981, pp. 115-26
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1981A.M. Wagner, 'Courbet's Landscapes and Their Market', Art History, IV, 1981, pp. 410-31
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1982P. Chessex, Courbet et la Suisse (exh. cat. Château de La Tour-de-Peilz, 24 July - 26 September 1982), La Tour-de Peilz 1982
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1991K. Herding, Courbet: To Venture Independent, New Haven 1991
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1994C. Phillips, 'National Gallery, II: Sir Hugh Lane's Pictures', in J. House, Impressionism for England: Samuel Courtauld as Patron and Collector, London 1994
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2019Herring, 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.