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Glite Dictionary
Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet

1 7.6
A French painter who paints ordinary people and everyday life
  • proper noun
: Gustave Courbet
  • Gustave Courbet revolutionized art by painting ordinary people rather than historical or religious subjects.

Examples

  • The works of Gustave Courbet are considered foundational to the movement of realism.

  • Many critics initially rejected Gustave Courbet's paintings for their bold portrayal of daily life.

  • Gustave Courbet was a famous painter.

  • The works of Gustave Courbet changed the course of modern art.

  • Gustave Courbet is known for his stunning paintings that depict the lives of common people.

  • The style of Gustave Courbet influenced many artists who came after him, emphasizing realism.

  • As a leader of the realism movement, Gustave Courbet sought to portray life authentically.

Surface Forms

Gustave Courbet main

Morphology

Gustave + Courbet

This is a proper name composed of two personal names that carry no compositional lexical meaning; knowing the tokens 'Gustave' and 'Courbet' does not let a B1 learner infer the referent's profession, dates, or artistic significance. Recognition of this MWE requires specific cultural or encyclopedic knowledge rather than knowledge of the constituent words, so it is opaque.

Etymology

Gustave Courbet was a French painter who surprised many by painting ordinary people and everyday scenes instead of kings and saints. Because he showed rough, real moments like workers on the road, his name is remembered for bringing 'real life' into art.