Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-08-27
Gusicve CoGrbet.

alstlc opinions ,yerC so little in harmony
with the picturesqJs surroundings in
which he was reared The village Of
stone cottages, walled in by grassy
banks and through which little stream
meaoders, borders on Switzerland and
lies in an inland region of wonderful
beauty in the department of the Doubs,
formerly a part OF Franche Comte.
Courbet pere was well to do farmer,
owning one OF the largest stons houses
Of this hamlet, and here, i'll June 1919,
scenes which might have fostered a
poet or painter as imaginative as a
Shelley or a Claude, was born the
caricaturist and rude communist,
6 dstave Courbet.
His career was remarkable one; as
painter he is little known out Of
France, and there he is celebrated
more for his originality than distinguish
ed for his genius AS an agitator and
communist he is execrated by hls
countrymen for his vandalism in de-
stroying works of art, and the over
throw of the VendOme Column COM
pleted his infamy in their eyes. In his
obstinate and headstrong boyhood
young Curbet was noted at school for
his caricatures; the Abbc Goussett,
now a cardinal, was his first teacher.
He was sent to college at Besancon,
where the faculty, teachers and students
we're subjects of his pencil. His college
life ended, there was little scope for
MS turbulent spirit in the quiet shade
Of Ormans, and his t.1ther sent him to
Paris to study Jaw; but legal studies
were soon abandoned for more con-
genial pursuits, and he gave up all his
time to painting and the pleasures Of {.
Paris. His nature was in spite of his
genius a coarse one. and his tastes were
all with his interiors. 1t is remarkable
that be seldom had as companions his
saperiors or even his equals; he was an
Intense radical, especially in religion;
his best and most telling caricatures,
because the most truthful, are of the
priests, upon whose foibles and short
comings he had no mercy.
Courbet's pictures have little beauty,
but are full of truth and force.
Several are now in the gallery of the
Louvre, and though they have no
delicacy of execution show his peculiar
and bold genius. He boasted that he
followed no school but his own His
biographers say he created TYPES OF
ugliness.n At so years of age COurbet
was the talk of the critics and gave
public exhibition of his pictures in
several cites of France and Germany.
He caused much excitement and dlsmay
in the world of art, which condemned
him as a narrow realist, but Courbet's
self-esteem was indomitable; his genius
was sufficient for him to hold d place
even among artists, and he was always
satisfied with his own work.
He was rough and uncouth in ap-
pearanee and took a positive pride in
heing carelessly and shabbily dressed;
though never at any time poor he
seldom had more than one suit OF
clothes. two shirts and two pairs of
socks, he would repair his clothing him.
self with twine, and it is said that one
winter he bought a bedquilt of Jew,
cut a hole in the middle for his head,
and wore this unique covering for an
overcoat. 1t could hardly be compared
TO a Roman toga if its wearer was an
artist. CouIbet had associated with
the German students and acquired a
taste for beer. The habitues of small
cafe in Paris which he frequented said
he would drink forty glasses at a sit
ting.
When Paris was invaded by the
Prussian troops Courbet's studio was
taken possession of by the soldiers,
who kicked holes in his pictures and
stabbed their mules in it. At this time
he was a most pestIlent communist
aud tie instigatOr of a succession Of
revolutionary palacards specially direct
ed toward the destruction Of the Ven
dome Column, which he argued was a
preventive of European goOd-fellOw-
ship, as it kept alive bad feeling by
cOmmemOrating the victories of
France over the other countries of the
continent. He was not actually
member Of the COmmunistic Com
mittee when the act of vandalism was
performed, but nevertheless he was its
chief instigator. Strange that an
artist should lend his influence to such
iconoclasml But his was a strange and
rude nature, an Offshoot, as it were,
of the time in which he acted his part
on the stage of human events, and
born of a nation which has produced
quaint anomalies of character.
Courbet's critics say he was bent
upon notoriety and as he could not
achieve it by his paintings, he took an
opposite course and became destroyer
of art. Whatever his motives he
seems to haye decided upon the de-
struction of the VendOme Column, and
on May 16, 1871. after it had been
undermined by masons and great force
used, it came down with crash, and
the statue of Napoleon rolled headless
in the debris. An immense crowd
witnessed It's downfall, and the streets
and squares IN the vicinity were filed
with dust and echoed with the threats
and grsans OF thousands of spectators.
The ruthless deed had been accomplish
ed and with it ended the artists pros
perItv. The commune was suppressed, i,
and the leaders who escaped with life
were tried and imprisoned. Gustave
Courbet was sentenced to six months
Imprisonment and to restore the column
at his own expense. This he undertook
at heavy cost, serving out his sentence
also, but he was unable before his
death to complete it, and his sister pro-
ceeded with the work of which she was
finally relieved by the French Govern
ment.
After his release from prison Courbet
was neglected by his family and doubly
abused by his enemies. His prosperity
was a thing Of the past, and even his
self-esteem was not proof against the
bitter obloquy heaped upon him by his
cOuntrymen. He went into voluntary
exile in Switzerland and died at little
place called Tour de Peil in December,
1877. Courbet was strange character;
>his own countrymen are his most
merciless critics, and many motives
have been attributed TO him for his act
of vandalism. Some even say he WISH
ID to appropriate the bronze of the
column and sell it at a large profit, and
others that he did 1t for historic fame,
like the frer of the Ephesian temple of
old. But he had genius enough to
make a name in spite of opposition.
Imagination and Scotch Whisky.
The lste Allan PInkerton had q compa-
nv of gentlemen at his country seat, neal
Chicago, one cold winter day few years
ago. For an hour he took them about his