1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Wilson. Tracy, I don't 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: know why I've never asked you this before. Do you 5 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: watch What We Do in the Shadows? I intend to 6 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: watch what We Do in the Shadows. There's just too much. 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: There's too much stuff to watch right now, there is 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: way too much. I won't shade anybody ever for not 9 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: keeping up with something, because who can. I'm scared of 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: the person that keeps up with everything. But the opening 11 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: credits of What We Do in the Shadows has a 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: series of amazing spoofs of famous and not so famous 13 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: pieces of art, with the characters from the show painted 14 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: into them as though they have been around for hundreds 15 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: and hundreds of years because they are vampires. Almost every 16 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: piece of art we'll talk about some variation, is actually 17 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: based on an existing piece of art. Art art, art, 18 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: It's such such good stuff. Um. Two of those pieces 19 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: are based on the work of Gustav Corbet, and I 20 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: really have wanted to talk about him anyway, And that 21 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: was a good entree because I love that show. It 22 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: is just starting its fourth season. I think as we 23 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 1: published this episode, it should be out already, and it's 24 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: so fun. Obviously, uh not for all ages. It's a 25 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: very grown up show, but with adult themes. Similarly, this episode, 26 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: I will warn you at one point we were going 27 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: to talk about a painting that is pretty graphic and explicit. 28 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: If you have younger art historians or art enthusiasts with you, you, 29 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: I mean, you might want to preview it just for safety. 30 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: I don't know how you feel about it. Everybody's got 31 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: a different threshold. But Corbet was iconic even in his 32 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: own lifetime. He flew in the face of artistic convention. 33 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: He turned down awards, he ushered in a new movement 34 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: of realism in France. He was kind of like the 35 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: bad boy of mid nineteenth century Paris art scene. And 36 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: he also became embroiled in the country's political turmoil. So 37 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 1: that is who we were talking about today. Jean des 38 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: Saree Gustave Courbet was born on June tenth, eighteen nineteen, 39 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: in the small town of Ornan, France. This is in 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: the east of France, not far from the border with Switzerland. 41 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: His parents were Reggie and Silvi Udo Courbet and Regie 42 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: is sometimes described as a farmer, but to be clear, 43 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: he was a very successful farmer. This wasn't like a 44 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: small family farm. He wasn't doing farm work on somebody 45 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: else's farm. He had a large scale, multi property commercial 46 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 1: farm that included some really lucrative vineyards. Gustav also had 47 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: three younger sisters, Zoe, Zelli, and Juliet, and these daughters 48 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,799 Speaker 1: appeared in a lot of their brothers paintings. Yeah he uh. 49 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: He liked to paint his friends and family in paintings, 50 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: as willis himself, which we'll talk about. After his early schooling, 51 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: Gustave enrolled at the College Royale and then attended a 52 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: fine art school in Besancon. His proclivity toward becoming an 53 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: artist wasn't really in line with what his parents had 54 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: in mind for him. They wanted him to pursue a 55 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: career in law. So when he was in his early 56 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: twenties the actual year this happened varies by source, but 57 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,359 Speaker 1: they sent him to Paris to study law. He did 58 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: not do that. Uh. He is said to have been 59 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: really very very close to this family and to have 60 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: truly loved his parents. We'll talk a lot about his 61 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: letters home to his parents and his family, but he 62 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: really just did not see any path for himself in 63 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: life but art. So when he got to Paris, he 64 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: did not enroll in law school, unsurprising based on what 65 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: Holly just said, but he also didn't enroll in art school, though. 66 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: He went to the Louver and studied the art there 67 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: and also made contact with artists who lived in the 68 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: city so we could take private lessons in some cases 69 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: asked them for advice. In particular, he studied with romantic 70 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: painter Baron Charles von Steuben and finally confessed all of 71 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: this to his father. He said he could not be 72 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: a lawyer, he only wanted to be an artist. His 73 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: father's response was surprising and incredibly supportive. He wrote to 74 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: his son quote, if anyone gives up, it will be you, 75 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: not me. He assured his son that he would support 76 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,559 Speaker 1: his ambitions, both emotionally and financially, and that he would 77 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: sell off everything he had if it came to that. 78 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: I don't think that's what he was expecting of his father. 79 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: So Courbet, with his father's blessing at this point, started 80 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: pursuing an art career. In earnest he wrote to his 81 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: parents quote, within five years, I must have a reputation 82 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: in Paris. But he still did not enroll at any 83 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,479 Speaker 1: formal school. Instead, he was largely self taught and his 84 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: development was based largely un copying works of famous artists, 85 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: something a lot of artists did and still do to 86 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: gain technical skills informed their own style. He also, as 87 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: we said, took some private lessons, and he started submitting 88 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: his original works to the Academy de bosaar annual Salon 89 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: exhibit in in eighteen forty four. Just a few years 90 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: into this effort, one of his paintings was accepted. That 91 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: painting was Corbet with a Black Dog or self Portrait 92 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: with a black Dog. This is not a close up portrait, 93 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: but a full view of the subject that, of course 94 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:37,360 Speaker 1: is Corbet himself. Obviously, he's seated with his entire body included. 95 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: And it's interesting because Corbet appears to be sitting on 96 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: the ground with an English spaniel standing partially on his lap. 97 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: But the point of view of the viewer is even 98 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:50,600 Speaker 1: lower down than the subject close to the ground, so 99 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: Corbet appears to be looking down. He has on a 100 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: hat that has his upper face in shadow, and a 101 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: drapy coat that's flipped open at his leg to reveal 102 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: a yellow lining. Corbet wrote to his family of the 103 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: acceptance of this painting, saying quote, I have been admitted 104 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,279 Speaker 1: to the exhibition and him highly delighted. It is not 105 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: the picture I should have preferred them to take, but 106 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: it makes no matter. They did me the honor of 107 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: hanging me well in the exhibition, and that is some compensation. 108 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: The following year, Corbet, spurred on by his success, submitted 109 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: five works for consideration for the Salon, but only one 110 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: small one was accepted. That's Le Guariro, and it features 111 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: a man in an almost reverse image of the black 112 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 1: dog portrait from the previous year we just described, once 113 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: again seated on the ground, but this time no dog 114 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: in his lap. He's creating a guitar. This is a 115 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,919 Speaker 1: very romantic image, hearkening to an earlier time period, and 116 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: although it's not categorized as a self portrait, Corbet pretty 117 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: obviously used himself as a model. Corbet continued to submit 118 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: pieces for the Salon in the years after this, but 119 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: his success rate kind of dropped off and was pretty low, 120 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: but he remained undaunted. He was a very confident person. 121 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,359 Speaker 1: That's probably a little easier when you know you have 122 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: financial backing. And he continued to paint, and he continued 123 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: to envision and plan his place in the art world. 124 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: Even in these early years of his career, Gustav was 125 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: really shrewd about crafting his image with the public and 126 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: with the art community. So he had come from a 127 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: wealthy family and he received a good education. Because he 128 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: came from the country, Parisians often assumed he was just 129 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: an uneducated peasant. He was totally happy to let people 130 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: do that because he knew it added to his mystique 131 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: as a painter. He saw every opportunity to like build 132 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: his life story in a way that would increase interest 133 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: in his work. We'll talk about one later on that 134 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: there's a little mind blowing to me. One of the 135 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: paintings that Corbet worked on starting in the eighteen forties 136 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: was one called The Wounded Man. This was another image 137 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: of the artist himself, this time in the romantic role 138 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: of a man reclining with his eyes closed, having suffered 139 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: an injury, presumably from a sword. This is a painting 140 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: that is often listed as having started in the eighteen 141 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: forties and being finished in the eighteen fifties. He didn't 142 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: normally take that long to make a painting, but it 143 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: wasn't considered finished until then because Corbet altered it significantly. 144 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: At one point, the hero in the image had been 145 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: accompanied by a woman leaning over his shoulder. She was, 146 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: it is believed, based on Virginie Binet, who modeled for 147 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: a lot of paintings for Corbet during a roughly ten 148 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: year long romantic relationship. The two of them were not married, 149 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,320 Speaker 1: but they lived together as a couple. To all outward appearances, 150 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: they were as committed as a married couple. They had 151 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: a son together named Desiree Alfred Emil, but in the 152 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:53,440 Speaker 1: early nineteen fifties Virginie moved away from Paris when she 153 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:56,080 Speaker 1: and Corbet broke up, and she took their child with her. 154 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: And it seems that she and Corbet had no contact 155 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: after the breakup, and Corbet had then painted her out 156 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: of the wounded man, and he placed a sword in 157 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:09,439 Speaker 1: her place in the painting. If you look at it, 158 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: it does look a little weird. Uh, it's not bad, 159 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: it's just a strange. It doesn't feel like that was 160 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: part of the original composition. He did not after this 161 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 1: have any long term, serious relationships. Although there were a 162 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: lot of women in his life, he kind of just 163 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: enjoyed playing the field, it seems. He wrote to a 164 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: friend of his relationships with women, quote, I am as 165 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 1: inclined to get married as I am to hang myself. 166 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,199 Speaker 1: Corbet's relationship with the Salon waxed and waned in the 167 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: late eighteen forties. He went from that elation of having 168 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,679 Speaker 1: felt that his work was well placed and that he 169 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: was just getting started. He went from that to a 170 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: long series of setbacks and feeling as though he would 171 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: never again gain recognition. Eighteen forty seven was especially rough 172 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: for him. He submitted three paintings than all three were rejected. 173 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 1: So we've been talking about the Salon and submitting every year. 174 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: And if you're wondering why didn't he just show his 175 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:13,199 Speaker 1: art somewhere else, there really wasn't another avenue available at 176 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,440 Speaker 1: this time in Paris. The Salon was the art show 177 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 1: of the year, and it was the place where patrons 178 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 1: went to purchase art and develop relationships with artists, so 179 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: they would have ongoing patronages in some place. Corbet had 180 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: written of it to his family, quote, I must exhibit 181 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: to make myself known, and unfortunately that is the only 182 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: exhibition in past years when I had not thoroughly mastered 183 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,640 Speaker 1: my own style and was still painting to a certain extent. 184 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: In theirs. They accepted my work, but now that I 185 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 1: am myself, there is no hope for me. Other now 186 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: famous artists were similarly despondent at the way the Salon 187 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: jury was running things. Several had even met to brainstorm 188 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: how they might establish a new independent Salon, and that 189 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: included people like Delacroix and rue Show. In eighteen forty eight, 190 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,560 Speaker 1: King Louis Philippe of France was forced to abdicate, and 191 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: later that year Louis Napoleon Bonaparte became the first president 192 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,679 Speaker 1: of the Second French Republic. Of course, this was a 193 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: huge change for the country, but for Gustave Courbet and 194 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: other artists resulted in a very significant shift in how 195 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: the Salon was juried and had less rigid requirements for 196 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: subject matter and style. At the eight forty eight exhibition, 197 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: he had ten paintings accepted for showing a lot of 198 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: his paintings during this time reflected the change in France's 199 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:41,200 Speaker 1: shifting socio political climate at a time when voting rights 200 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,080 Speaker 1: were expanding for men anyway, and the right to work 201 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:49,079 Speaker 1: was also adopted as a governmental reform. Corbet was painting 202 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 1: people at work in various trades. He also had the 203 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: very unique insight, or possibly conceit, to see that he 204 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:00,080 Speaker 1: was the face of a huge change in art. He 205 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,440 Speaker 1: wrote to his family quote, I'm about to make it 206 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: any time now, for i am surrounded by people who 207 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: are very influential in the newspapers and the arts, and 208 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 1: who are very excited about my painting. Indeed, we are 209 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: about to form a new school of which I will 210 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 1: be the representative in the field of painting. In a moment, 211 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: we will talk about Gustave Corbet's shift to painting landscapes 212 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: and pastorals and how his representation of the common man 213 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: became so important in art history. But first we will 214 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: pause for a sponsor break. So at this point Corbet 215 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: had been in Paris for roughly a decade trying to 216 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: make a name for himself. He had shifted from those 217 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: romantic portraits we talked about to doing some more different 218 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: types of art. And although he've had his father's financial 219 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: support and then the support of an art collector benefactor 220 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 1: named Alfred Bruya. No one could argue that he had 221 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 1: been idle during those ten years. He had finally earned 222 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: a gold medal in the Paris Salon, and that meant 223 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:09,080 Speaker 1: that he didn't have to submit his work to Salon 224 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 1: juries for exhibition going forward. So he took a little 225 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: pause and he went home to Ornand to spend time 226 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 1: with his family. And this break from life in the 227 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: city really proved to be exactly what the artist needed, 228 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 1: and being back in the countryside inspired Corbet in a 229 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: whole new way. Two of Corbet's most famous paintings were 230 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:31,599 Speaker 1: inspired by this visit home. The first was titled Le 231 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: cassier to Pierre, or the Stone Breakers. As its title suggests, 232 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 1: this is an image of an older man breaking stones 233 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,439 Speaker 1: and a younger man carrying a basket of broken pieces 234 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: along the side of the road. There's an empty, dark 235 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: landscape behind them. This is an interesting image because not 236 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: only did it come to be seen as a clear 237 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 1: example of Corbet's desire to put realism front and center, 238 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 1: also shows everyday working people in vivid detail without roman 239 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 1: antasizing their lives. Was eventually recognized as raising questions about 240 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:09,479 Speaker 1: France's socio economic structure. And that last bit is especially 241 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: interesting because while most art historians today would credit Corbet 242 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: with being very deliberate about making a social statement, and 243 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: Corbet himself later claimed that that was all intentional, Uh, 244 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: there have definitely been some write ups about this work 245 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: that suggests that it might have been a little bit 246 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: less calculated. Corbet had seen a man named Gagi, who 247 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: was a road mender working as the artist passed by 248 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: him in a carriage, and he had written to a 249 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: friend about it. Quote. Here is an old man of 250 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: seventy bending over his work with his hammer raised, his 251 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: body burned by the sun, his face shaded with a 252 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: wide straw hat. His core stiff breeches are all patched, 253 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,880 Speaker 1: and his heels are showing through his stockings which once 254 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: were white in his broken old wooden shoes. Near him 255 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: is a young man, his skin burned brown. His filthy, 256 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 1: ragged shirt shows his side and his arms alas in 257 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 1: such low life, this is the beginning and the end. 258 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: Rarely can one find so complete an expression of poverty 259 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: and wretchedness. Corbet then invited Gudgie to his studio to 260 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: sit for him for the painting of the Stone Breakers, 261 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: the second famous work that was inspired by that trip 262 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 1: to or Not was a burial at or Not, which 263 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: he painted in eighteen fifty. This painting is massive, fift 264 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: centimeters by six hundred sixties centimeters or by ten ft. 265 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 1: It depicts his great uncle's funeral. There are more than 266 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:44,880 Speaker 1: forty people in this composition, which is very dark, includes mourners, clergy, 267 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: and family. They're all gathered around an open grave. He 268 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: showed this at the eight fifty one Salon, much to 269 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: the chagrin of critics. The large dimensions that Corbet had 270 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: used were normally reserved for romantic subjects, so seeing such 271 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: a stark scene realistically painted on something so big I 272 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: was considered ghost and in poor taste. Even so, some 273 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,840 Speaker 1: critics understood the importance of this as a moment of 274 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: massive change in art. One write up said that Corbet 275 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,880 Speaker 1: had established himself as an artist quote in the manner 276 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: of a cannon ball which lodges itself in a wall. 277 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: That's such a great description. Uh. These two pieces look 278 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 1: so classic as pieces of art to modernize, not to 279 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: be confused with classicism. Um, but they just look like 280 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: when you look at them, you're like, yes, that's that 281 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: seems like famous old art. Uh. It can be difficult though, 282 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 1: to grasp just how radical they were considered in mid 283 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: nineteenth century France, at a time when the art world 284 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: was very much about showing the beauty of all things. 285 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:53,320 Speaker 1: And indeed, we said Corbet had studied with a romantic painter, 286 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: but he had shifted gears, and he was painting things 287 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: that most people at the time would not consider beautiful, 288 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 1: and he was doing it with this very intense detail 289 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: and what is often described as urgency. These pastorals cemented 290 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: him in the eyes of the art and literature scene 291 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: of France as the major player in the new realism movement. 292 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:17,359 Speaker 1: So we should level set for just a moment and 293 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:20,440 Speaker 1: talk about realism and what it means, because it's easy 294 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:23,159 Speaker 1: to assume it means one thing, when really it's a 295 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,640 Speaker 1: pretty broad term. Realism in terms of art is not 296 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: necessarily about replicating a real world object in faithful accuracy, 297 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:37,199 Speaker 1: although it can include that. The more important foundation of 298 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: it is depicting real things rather than something fanciful or imagined. 299 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: There are a lot of works of art that can 300 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:46,439 Speaker 1: be put under this umbrella, going all the way back 301 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: to ancient Greek sculpture, but the term Realism didn't really 302 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 1: come into play as an artistic school of thought until 303 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:58,199 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century, when Corbet was alive, and the realism 304 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: movement that Corbet is associated with was a rejection of 305 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 1: the Classicism and Romanticism that had been the standard for 306 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: French art for a very long time. He wrote about 307 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,159 Speaker 1: this in a letter in eighteen sixty one in a 308 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,160 Speaker 1: way that makes his feelings on this matter entirely clear, 309 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:18,680 Speaker 1: writing quote, Painting is an essentially concrete art and can 310 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: consist only of the representation of things, both real and existing. 311 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,719 Speaker 1: As he came to recognize that his work depicting the 312 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: French countryside had given him a reputation and deeper name recognition, 313 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: Corbet really leaned into it or none where he was born, 314 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:38,120 Speaker 1: as in the province of Bourgeon and franc Compte, which 315 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: is in the eastern part of France, and it became 316 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 1: the star of a lot of Corbet's work. When Louis 317 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 1: Napoleon declared himself Emperor Napoleon the Third after staging a coup, 318 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:54,200 Speaker 1: the atmosphere for art in Paris once again shifted. Although 319 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: Gustav Corbet had already been seen as controversial in his work. 320 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,400 Speaker 1: As the government became more thor Matarian and a lot 321 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,919 Speaker 1: more conservative in its taste, his work was perceived as 322 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: being downright confrontational. His painting Young Ladies of the Village, 323 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,880 Speaker 1: which shows three women modeled by his sisters offering alms 324 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,359 Speaker 1: to a young girl who is hurting cows, was critiqued 325 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: as a clumsy affront to social morais. When you look 326 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: at this painting today, you go, oh, that's lovely, but 327 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,199 Speaker 1: people were real mad about it at the time. In 328 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:31,960 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty four, Gustav started to work on a massive project, 329 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:36,639 Speaker 1: and we used massive both literally and figuratively. The canvas 330 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: of the painting, which he completed in six weeks, is 331 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: three hundred sixty one by five centimeters that's eleven point 332 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,399 Speaker 1: eight ft by nineteen point six feet, so similar to 333 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 1: the dimensions of a burial at or No, but the 334 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,920 Speaker 1: subject matter is expansive as well. The painting is sometimes 335 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: called the Artist's Studio or the Painter's Studio, but the 336 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 1: full title is a pain Winter's Studio, A real allegory 337 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,959 Speaker 1: summing up seven years of my life as an artist. 338 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,000 Speaker 1: Corbet is at the center of the painting, working painting 339 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,399 Speaker 1: a landscape of an area. Near or not behind him 340 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: is what appears to be an artist's model. It's a 341 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: naked woman with her dress at her feet, but he's 342 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 1: not painting her or even looking at her. Instead, she 343 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:25,479 Speaker 1: is closely watching him. There's also a small child watching 344 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,879 Speaker 1: him paint. So these three figures Courbet, the woman, and 345 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: the child form the central grouping of the image, and 346 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,080 Speaker 1: the rest of the paintings casts of characters are separated 347 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,480 Speaker 1: to the right and the left. The group to the 348 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: left is filled with the sort of rural characters that 349 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: populated much of Corbet's work. There's also a representation of 350 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: the Crucifixion of Christ on the left side as well. 351 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,439 Speaker 1: Close to and kind of just behind the left side 352 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: of the painter's canvas in the image as he works. 353 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: On the right are Corbet's friends and patrons, including the 354 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:00,879 Speaker 1: writer Charles Boudlare. This painting continues to be interpreted and 355 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:06,160 Speaker 1: analyzed by art history scholars. In mixing allegory and reality, 356 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: Corbett seems to have laid out a puzzle for the 357 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,959 Speaker 1: viewer to solve, but no one seems to agree on 358 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,479 Speaker 1: what exactly the meaning of the piece is. This painting 359 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:18,479 Speaker 1: was submitted for the eighteen fifty five exhibition in Paris, 360 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: and it was not accepted. After having achieved a level 361 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: of recognition where he had been able to place pieces 362 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: in the salon without jury approval, this was just a 363 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: slap in the face. Napoleon the third had directed that 364 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,439 Speaker 1: only pleasant art to be included at the salon, and 365 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: the artist's studio was determined to be too demanding of 366 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: the viewer, and Corbett had eleven pieces accepted for the salon, 367 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:47,639 Speaker 1: but he just took matters into his own hands to 368 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 1: get all of his paintings in front of the eyes 369 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 1: of the public. He rented a space near the exposition 370 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 1: and set up his own pavilion to showcase this huge painting, 371 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 1: as well as some other works. He called the the 372 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 1: Pavilion of Realism. The Pavilion of Realism was not a success. 373 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: Although many of his contemporaries and Eugene Delacroix in particular, 374 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: admired the ambition of this effort, it just wasn't well attended. 375 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,239 Speaker 1: The public mostly saw this as a stunt, or like 376 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:22,360 Speaker 1: a really expensive tantrum. Yeah, there's one exchange. I will 377 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: get it wrong because I'm just retelling it. I didn't 378 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: quote it here where there was a person who was like, 379 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: this is really a lot, like you really think highly 380 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 1: of yourself, and Corbet wrote back, do you not know 381 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: I'm the most arrogant person in Paris. He was just like, 382 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:38,880 Speaker 1: it's just like this is how it is, dude. It's 383 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: all my paintings or nothing. Um. Incidentally, it was during 384 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: the eighteen fifties, when Corbett's fame was rapidly on the rise, 385 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,919 Speaker 1: that he painted the two paintings that are spoofed in 386 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,840 Speaker 1: the opening of What We Do in the Shadows. The 387 00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: first in terms of when Corbet painted it, although I 388 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: think it appears second in the opening credits of the 389 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 1: show is a painting titled Madame august Quo, which was 390 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: a commissioned rendering of Mattila Deport as ordered by her husband. 391 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: This features a woman in almost full length wearing a 392 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 1: black plated gown with a striking green wrap. The television 393 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 1: show created one with the vampire Nadia as Madame deport 394 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: and in the show's opening there is also a matching 395 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: painting of Nadia's husband Laslow. Although Corbett did not paint 396 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:26,240 Speaker 1: a companion piece to Madame august Quoc. The second Corbett 397 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: spoof in the TV shows opening credits once again features 398 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:32,880 Speaker 1: Nadia in a recreation of Corbet's eighteen fifty six painting 399 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: woman in a riding hat. You'll also see that sometimes 400 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: listed as the Horsewoman. This was also a portrait commission. 401 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: Gustav was hired to paint Madame Clement Laurier as a 402 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: wedding gift to the bride from her husband. In this case, 403 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: Corbett did also paint a portrait of Monsieur Laurier, but 404 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 1: it is not that portrait that's used for Laslow in 405 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 1: the show. There's a matching portrait made that appears to 406 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: be an original creation to look more like a match 407 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: to the Madame are a painting. You can see both 408 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,680 Speaker 1: of Corbet's original portraits at the met If you're interested 409 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: and want to do ah some sort of what we 410 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: do in the Shadows art crawl. That sounds great. In 411 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,920 Speaker 1: a moment, we'll talk about Corbet's influence on the impressionists 412 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: who followed him and his involvement in politics. But first 413 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: we are going to hear from some of the sponsors 414 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: who keep Stuffy miss in history class going. Corbet went 415 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,439 Speaker 1: to Germany for a visit in eighteen fifty six, and 416 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,440 Speaker 1: there he made a lot of new connections with fellow artists. 417 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: Whereas France had come to see Corbet at this point 418 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: as a rabble rouser or sometimes even a nuisance, for 419 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,480 Speaker 1: the way that he both ignored the traditions of the 420 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: art scene of the day and thumbed his nose at criticism, 421 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,520 Speaker 1: it seems that the German sensibilities were more willing to 422 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 1: embrace his realism. He had painted a lot of works 423 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:00,679 Speaker 1: that featured hunting parties, and those were particularly popular in Germany. 424 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: One of the interesting aspects of Corbet's realism is that 425 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:09,719 Speaker 1: it wasn't confined to any particular subject matter. He painted landscapes, 426 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: he painted the lower classes at their work. He made 427 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 1: portraits of himself and other people. He painted nude studies 428 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: of women, quite a lot of them. His work in landscapes, though, 429 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:21,639 Speaker 1: is often said to have paved the way for the 430 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: Impressionist movement, as he worked to capture things like the 431 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: sky as it was breaking into a storm over the 432 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: sea at the shoreline. He had started to bring in 433 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: the ideas that shaped Impressionism, particularly in his use of 434 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:38,440 Speaker 1: color and light reflections. Whereas Corbet's realism was all about 435 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 1: capturing all and any subjects of the world. Impressionism would 436 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 1: kind of take that to a new space, as it 437 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,320 Speaker 1: showed the world realistically but with a focus on the 438 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: waist that light and color can shift our perceptions of reality. 439 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:54,919 Speaker 1: Throughout the eighteen sixties, Gustave enjoyed quite a bit of success. 440 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: He had become the figurehead not just for realism but 441 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: for breaking away from the establishment, and that really rebellious spirit, 442 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:07,480 Speaker 1: combined with his skill, attracted a lot of collectors. And then, 443 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 1: though his relationship with the French government under Napoleon the 444 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:14,359 Speaker 1: Third wasn't good, he was nominated as a recipient of 445 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 1: the French Legion of Honor in eighteen seventy. Kurbai turned 446 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 1: this down, writing quote, honor does not lie in a 447 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: title or a ribbon. It lies in actions and the 448 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,800 Speaker 1: motives for actions. I honor myself by remaining faithful to 449 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: my lifelong principles. If I betrayed them, I should desert 450 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 1: honor to where it's mark now. He was not a 451 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:41,320 Speaker 1: fan of Napoleon the Third's covernment at the end of 452 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:44,080 Speaker 1: the Franco German War, also called the Franco Prussian War. 453 00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 1: The Paris Commune formed as an insurrectionist group in response 454 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,679 Speaker 1: to dissatisfaction at the armistice agreement that France had signed 455 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 1: with Germany. Emperor Napoleon the Third had entered the war 456 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 1: way over confident and France had not really been prepared, 457 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: and the Treaty of Frankfurt, France had had to concede 458 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 1: the annexation of Alsace and part of Lorraine, as well 459 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: as the payment of five billion francs to cover the 460 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,919 Speaker 1: expenses of the German army's occupation of France. In the 461 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,639 Speaker 1: briefest of terms, this meant that the Paris Commune was 462 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,720 Speaker 1: against both the Army of Versailles and the German Army. 463 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 1: There was fear that the National Assembly was going to 464 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,680 Speaker 1: reinstate the monarchy, which was opposite of what Parisians who 465 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:29,560 Speaker 1: favored the Republic wanted, and Corbet aligned with the Commune 466 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:33,199 Speaker 1: as it attempted to establish its own French government and 467 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:37,440 Speaker 1: reject the Third Republic and Napoleon the Third. The Commune 468 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:40,200 Speaker 1: had been established in the middle of March eighteen seventy one, 469 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:42,840 Speaker 1: and it was suppressed in May, so it didn't last 470 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: very long, and Corbet had left the group early in 471 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:49,040 Speaker 1: May before it was disbanded, because he actually found it 472 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 1: too extreme, so here in a quote later, he didn't 473 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:55,399 Speaker 1: really like aligning with anybody, but that association with the 474 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: Paris Commune really hurt him. Kurbet had been elected president 475 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: of Artists Federation, and in that role it felt to 476 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:06,440 Speaker 1: him to re establish the National Salon and to reopen 477 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 1: the museums which had been closed during the war. He 478 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: made an unusual move, though, and instead focused on monuments 479 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:18,399 Speaker 1: outside of Paris, the palace at Fontainebleau, which had been 480 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,679 Speaker 1: occupied by German forces, and the porcelain factory at Seve. 481 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 1: As all of this was going on, members of the 482 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 1: Paris Commune had decided to destroy a military monument in 483 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,320 Speaker 1: the Place Vendome. It was a column that commemorated Napoleon 484 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,800 Speaker 1: Bonapartes military and it was something Corbett had spoken of 485 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 1: with disdain on many occasions. When the Commune destroyed it 486 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 1: on May sixteenth, Corbet was believed to have spearheaded the move, 487 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: even though he had left the group before that happened. 488 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: He had circulated a petition to take that monument down 489 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: the year before, in eighteen seventy, so there was an 490 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: official record of him calling for its destruction. After the 491 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: commune was conclusively defeated by the Army of Versailles at 492 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 1: the end of May, Corbet was arrested in the first 493 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,600 Speaker 1: week of June and put on trial as a political instigator. 494 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 1: Let's trial did not go well. The people who actually 495 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:15,280 Speaker 1: had destroyed the monument had fled the country, although they 496 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 1: it had insisted that the artist had not been involved. 497 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: Even so, he was found guilty and sentenced to six 498 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 1: months in prison. There was also a fine, although because 499 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 1: Corbet had friends who were highly placed in the new 500 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 1: provisional government, the some of that fine was minimal. Yeah, 501 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,719 Speaker 1: he was in this unique space where he kind of 502 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,760 Speaker 1: disliked every established thing and fought against it. But he 503 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 1: also had friends in almost every position, you know, with 504 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: any alignment, because a lot of people were buying his 505 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: work and we're fans of his. Gaustaph Corbet was sent 506 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 1: to prison at Saint Pelagie, but he fell ill and 507 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 1: he was transferred to a medical facility near Paris to 508 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 1: finish his sentence. When that sentence ended and he was 509 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,840 Speaker 1: a freeman again, he not stay in Paris. He instead 510 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:04,920 Speaker 1: went back to his beloved countryside and family in Ornan. 511 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 1: He hoped to rest and rebuild his health and put 512 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: the whole thing behind him, but that was not to be. 513 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:14,720 Speaker 1: But even while incarcerated, he had written letters to his 514 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:18,000 Speaker 1: family that this whole ordeal had a bright side, which 515 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: is it was only going to drive up interest in 516 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 1: his work and enable him to raise his prices. In 517 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy two, Adelphier, who had helped ensure Corbet's fines 518 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: weren't too steep after his trial, resigned from his presidency. 519 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 1: Let's put Bonaparte loyalists back in power. They did not 520 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,600 Speaker 1: feel that Corbet had truly paid his debt to society, 521 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:44,160 Speaker 1: so the French government sued Corbet for the money needed 522 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 1: to replace the destroyed monument. The trial for this was 523 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,560 Speaker 1: never going to go his way. Corbet was fined five 524 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: hundred thousand fracs, and this was an absurd amount of money. 525 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 1: There was no way he could pay it. By the 526 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 1: time the judgment was passed down, all Corbett's assets had 527 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:06,120 Speaker 1: already been seized, including all of his paintings. Everything he 528 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,440 Speaker 1: owned had been taken by the French government. Yeah, I 529 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 1: have seen different numbers. Aside from that five hundred thousand francs, 530 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 1: but it's always many hundreds of thousand. It's kind of 531 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:22,320 Speaker 1: like the absurdly high number of going Tracy. You owe 532 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:26,440 Speaker 1: me twelve billion dollars. No, really, it was thirteen billions. 533 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 1: I mean, it's like it felt that absurd to him 534 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 1: because he had nothing. In addition to that, the government 535 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: had been watching his family and friends. They were all 536 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 1: under surveillance, and a number of artists that he was 537 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,800 Speaker 1: associated with finally decided that being associated with him was 538 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 1: too dangerous and that he needed to be barred from 539 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,840 Speaker 1: future salons and basically excommunicated from the city's art circles. 540 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,840 Speaker 1: One of his friends in the art world wrote to 541 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:55,880 Speaker 1: another the sad phrase, he must be dead to us. 542 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: So he left the country and headed for Switzerland. On 543 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: July seventy three, he left France and never returned. Initially, 544 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:08,920 Speaker 1: Corbett went to Fleurier, which is only about ten kilometers 545 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 1: or a little more than six miles away from the 546 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 1: French border, but Gustave became anxious that this was just 547 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,520 Speaker 1: too close to France, so he moved about eighty five 548 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 1: kilometers south to lave lach Lament. He didn't stay there either, 549 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 1: but also didn't travel very far before putting down roots. 550 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:29,920 Speaker 1: He went just about two kilometers more south to Latoure 551 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 1: de Peals and purchased an inn, which he named Bonport 552 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,760 Speaker 1: or Safe Harbor. Because he had left Paris, he actually 553 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:40,200 Speaker 1: missed out on a move by some of his fellow artists, 554 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:45,200 Speaker 1: which no doubt would have pleased him. In eighteen seventy four, Monet, Pizzarro, Cesanne, 555 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,640 Speaker 1: and Renoir, tired of the Paris Salon, offering the only 556 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:52,000 Speaker 1: chance at having their work publicly seen, put together their 557 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: own show, and that is actually the art exhibition that 558 00:32:55,800 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 1: the term Impressionists was coined at. Many art historians credit 559 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,400 Speaker 1: Corbet's daring with helping to kick start the Impressionists. Some 560 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,200 Speaker 1: have said it would have happened anyway, but it happened 561 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,760 Speaker 1: about ten years earlier than it would have had Courbet 562 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,120 Speaker 1: not been involved. In his final years, Corbet drank heavily 563 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,200 Speaker 1: and neglected his health. The stress of the trials and 564 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: his incarceration, and having so many of his colleagues turned 565 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:24,160 Speaker 1: their back on him that all took a toll. He 566 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 1: had hoped that he might be granted an amnesty and 567 00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:29,480 Speaker 1: be able to return to France, but Instead, the French 568 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:31,960 Speaker 1: government directed him to pay for the cost of the 569 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:36,200 Speaker 1: monument and ten thousand franc installments. It's like going, You'll 570 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,240 Speaker 1: owe us forever. They also auctioned off all of his 571 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:43,160 Speaker 1: art that they had seized. Corbet died on December thirty one, 572 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy seven. He was only fifty eight, and the 573 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,000 Speaker 1: cause of his death was listed as a dima that 574 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,600 Speaker 1: was likely the result of drinking. Although he had never 575 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,160 Speaker 1: gotten to return to France in life, in nineteen nineteen 576 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:59,440 Speaker 1: his remains were moved from Switzerland to Ornand, where he 577 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,160 Speaker 1: was reint heard in the same cemetery featured in his 578 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 1: painting A Burial at Ornand. A nineteen twelve collection of 579 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:10,560 Speaker 1: Corbet's work with commentary by Leons Benedete, opens with the 580 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:14,000 Speaker 1: line quote Corbet was one of Corbet's favorite subjects. It 581 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:16,359 Speaker 1: has often been thrown up against him by men who 582 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:19,520 Speaker 1: forget that an artist has great difficulty in finding a 583 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:23,640 Speaker 1: model as convenient or as well studied as himself. But 584 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:27,239 Speaker 1: it was said the painter, who delighted in making so 585 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:31,000 Speaker 1: many of his contemporaries look uglier than they were, was 586 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: much nicer and more generous when it came to his 587 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:38,840 Speaker 1: own face. The artist has no excuse save the masterpieces 588 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:43,839 Speaker 1: that his rather exclusive indulgence has given us. Um we've 589 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:46,480 Speaker 1: only talked about a couple of the self portraits here. 590 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 1: It's worth checking out more of them. The one that's 591 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:52,560 Speaker 1: going to be on our social media is not one 592 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:56,560 Speaker 1: of the ones that we have mentioned here, but is striking. 593 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:00,600 Speaker 1: But really, Gustav Corbet gave the art world awful lot 594 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:04,399 Speaker 1: more than beautiful paintings. His rebellious spirit, which was part 595 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,480 Speaker 1: of his art really before he even became politically active, 596 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:11,320 Speaker 1: led to a number of innovations and moves that scandalized 597 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,480 Speaker 1: the art world at the time, but became very commonplace 598 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 1: as later generations of artists adopted them. We already talked 599 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,120 Speaker 1: about his embrace of realism at a time when Romanticism 600 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:26,480 Speaker 1: was the standard. His provocative paintings and behaviors were not accidental. 601 00:35:26,719 --> 00:35:29,319 Speaker 1: He had written early in his career that he had 602 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 1: a goal quote to change the public's taste and way 603 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,719 Speaker 1: of seeing. No small task, for it means no more 604 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:39,440 Speaker 1: and no less than overturning what exists and replacing it. 605 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,799 Speaker 1: In addition to that, Corbet's nudes through the Paris art 606 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:48,359 Speaker 1: establishment into a tizzy. He was certainly not at all 607 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: the first person to paint nude figures. Historical figures and 608 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:55,399 Speaker 1: art were completely acceptable at the time as nudes, even 609 00:35:55,400 --> 00:36:00,200 Speaker 1: in very sensual scenarios. But his realism was very real. 610 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 1: It left nothing to the imagination. It wasn't romanticized. One 611 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:06,799 Speaker 1: of his most well known examples of this is a 612 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:10,880 Speaker 1: painting titled Origin of the World or Laura Jeanne du Monde, 613 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:13,319 Speaker 1: which is a view of a woman's body lying on 614 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:16,400 Speaker 1: a bed in which her genitalia are the focus of 615 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,959 Speaker 1: the work. When he painted this in eighteen sixty six, 616 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,960 Speaker 1: it was completely shocking. Was a private commission and it 617 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:26,520 Speaker 1: didn't go on public display, but art critics certainly saw 618 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,800 Speaker 1: it and they weighed in on it. There's debate around 619 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:32,000 Speaker 1: it that continues until this day. The Origin of the 620 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,640 Speaker 1: World passed from private collector to private collector over the years. 621 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:39,279 Speaker 1: It was once even owned by Jacques Lacan, but it 622 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 1: didn't go on public display until nineteen eighty eight, when 623 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:45,080 Speaker 1: it was shown at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. 624 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,600 Speaker 1: Today it's part of the collection of the muse d'Orsay, 625 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:52,239 Speaker 1: and it's still Elicits really strong responses, but it, in 626 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,399 Speaker 1: similar work set the stage for other artists to show 627 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,919 Speaker 1: human bodies without the limitations that the art established had 628 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:03,000 Speaker 1: placed on them before this work. There's also some fun 629 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:05,439 Speaker 1: gossip about who the model for this may have been 630 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:08,919 Speaker 1: that Holly is going to talk about on Friday. Yes, 631 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,359 Speaker 1: that gossip is good. This is interesting because it's one 632 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:14,280 Speaker 1: of those things that was considered pornographic when he painted 633 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:17,520 Speaker 1: it in eighteen sixty six. There are still people today 634 00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:20,480 Speaker 1: who will say that straight up pornography and not art. 635 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:23,960 Speaker 1: It's very controversial, so he sure did stay relevant in 636 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:29,360 Speaker 1: that regard. Even in less explicit paintings. Corbet's detractors found 637 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:32,920 Speaker 1: him to be scandalous. In eighteen seventy two, at a 638 00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:35,640 Speaker 1: time when the painter's life and country were in upheaval, 639 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:39,080 Speaker 1: he painted a work called Sleep and This features two 640 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 1: naked women asleep in each other's arms. It was considered 641 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:46,160 Speaker 1: so controversial when it was shown publicly that there was 642 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:50,520 Speaker 1: actually a police report filed about it for indecency. As 643 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,000 Speaker 1: Corbet was already on the outs with the French government 644 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,319 Speaker 1: at this time. That report went into a file that 645 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:58,440 Speaker 1: was being kept to document his life. On a more 646 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:02,440 Speaker 1: technical note rather than relating to his subject matter. Corbet 647 00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:04,040 Speaker 1: was also one of the first artists to use a 648 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:06,560 Speaker 1: palette knife and his fingers to apply the paint to 649 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:11,560 Speaker 1: the canvas. Palette knives were strictly considered mixing tools at 650 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:14,760 Speaker 1: the times. This is the fine art equivalent of applying 651 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:18,000 Speaker 1: wall paint with a stir stick. For Corbet, though, it 652 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:20,960 Speaker 1: was a different way to control his medium. Yeah, and 653 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:22,840 Speaker 1: it was one of those things. I mean, obviously it 654 00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:25,120 Speaker 1: worked and he was very good at it. I think 655 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:28,719 Speaker 1: it was um Sissan that said, like, his talent was 656 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: just limitless, and it was kind of a reflection of 657 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:34,120 Speaker 1: him being able to do completely new things in ways 658 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:38,319 Speaker 1: that resulted in just beautiful work. Today, Corbet's work is 659 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:41,319 Speaker 1: recognized for its important in the development of Western art. 660 00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:45,320 Speaker 1: There are frequent exhibitions mounted featuring most of his works. 661 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:49,760 Speaker 1: Two canvases, though are generally excluded. Both Burial at Ornan 662 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 1: and the Painter Studio are very large, which makes shipping difficult, 663 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,319 Speaker 1: but they are also considered to be too delicate to 664 00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:59,480 Speaker 1: be shipped, so even though they are considered some of 665 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:03,200 Speaker 1: his most important works, both remain in the permanent collection 666 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:05,839 Speaker 1: of the muse d'Orsay, and they cannot be loaned out. 667 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:09,480 Speaker 1: Another important Corbet painting that you will not see in 668 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:13,160 Speaker 1: any collected exhibit today is the Stone Breakers because it 669 00:39:13,239 --> 00:39:16,520 Speaker 1: was unfortunately destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in World 670 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:20,920 Speaker 1: War Two. Eight years before his death, Corbet was embroiled 671 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:25,680 Speaker 1: in France's very volatile political shifts. He described himself and 672 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:29,040 Speaker 1: his ideology in a single succinct passage in a letter 673 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:31,879 Speaker 1: to a friend. It seems the right place to wrap 674 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:34,560 Speaker 1: up his story. He wrote, quote, I am fifty years 675 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:37,319 Speaker 1: old and I have always lived in freedom. Let me 676 00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:40,239 Speaker 1: end my life free. When I am dead, let this 677 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,759 Speaker 1: be said of me. He belonged to no school, to 678 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:46,919 Speaker 1: no church, to no institution, to no academy, least of all, 679 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:52,600 Speaker 1: to any regime except the regime of liberty. Gustav Corbett. 680 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:58,000 Speaker 1: He's an interesting one. I have an interesting listener mail. 681 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:03,120 Speaker 1: Cool because, as as I mentioned before, I'm still working 682 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:07,360 Speaker 1: through a whole lot of boxes sent to my house 683 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:11,359 Speaker 1: from the office. Many of our listeners have sent us 684 00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:13,879 Speaker 1: gifts for the last couple of years, and TI I'm 685 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:18,080 Speaker 1: still opening. So I wanted to read this one and 686 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:23,160 Speaker 1: say a huge thank you to our listener Greg, who 687 00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,000 Speaker 1: writes Dear History Ladies. I was recently catching up on 688 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,759 Speaker 1: a significant backlog of podcasts and came across the one 689 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:31,360 Speaker 1: you did on Guatemala and how the United Fruit Company 690 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:33,680 Speaker 1: used to muck about in the politics of countries where 691 00:40:33,719 --> 00:40:38,439 Speaker 1: they had interests. Please find enclosed a model United Fruit 692 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:43,040 Speaker 1: ship SS Telemanca, along with some other United Fruit items. Yes, 693 00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:47,560 Speaker 1: that's right, I'm pulling it out of the box. Carefully, sure, 694 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:54,799 Speaker 1: crazy on camera, we got a model ship. Wow, um, 695 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:57,440 Speaker 1: it's quite cool. Greg goes on, I build model ships 696 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:00,279 Speaker 1: and integrate ephemera specific to the history of the ship 697 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:03,200 Speaker 1: into the model's display case. He include a picture. I 698 00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:06,600 Speaker 1: did not make the United Fruit Company model, but I 699 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:09,080 Speaker 1: found it in an antique shop and then accumulated there 700 00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:12,239 Speaker 1: were related items from other sources, thinking that I would 701 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:15,600 Speaker 1: incorporate them all into a single display and resell it. However, 702 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:17,879 Speaker 1: I've got too many models and two little time left. 703 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:21,239 Speaker 1: So when I revisited the Talamanca project after hearing your podcasts, 704 00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:23,600 Speaker 1: you folks came to mind. I believe they used to 705 00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:25,880 Speaker 1: sell these models as a souvenir of your voyage, so 706 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:29,359 Speaker 1: it's quite likely this was once on the Talamanca. This 707 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,040 Speaker 1: particular example was in a very nasty state when I 708 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:34,680 Speaker 1: acquired it. You would not know it. It is pristine now. 709 00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:37,600 Speaker 1: The deck has been cleaned and repainted, but years of 710 00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:40,399 Speaker 1: neglect took their toll. The inside of the cargo hatch 711 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:43,160 Speaker 1: on the stern, which I didn't clean and repaint, represents 712 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:45,520 Speaker 1: what the entire deck looked like. I think the fourth 713 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:48,439 Speaker 1: of July menu is particularly interesting and invokes all kinds 714 00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:50,120 Speaker 1: of images of what it must have been like to 715 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:53,160 Speaker 1: travel during this era. He included a menu. Obviously, I've 716 00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:55,279 Speaker 1: got no idea what the story behind the button would be. 717 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:58,160 Speaker 1: If you've already got any of this stuff, I certainly 718 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,960 Speaker 1: do not. Uh, it's that's cool, Greg Rights. Feel free 719 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:03,680 Speaker 1: to regift, or you can just toss it all. It 720 00:42:03,719 --> 00:42:05,839 Speaker 1: doesn't really have much value. It was much more fun 721 00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:07,480 Speaker 1: to send it to you rather than sell it in 722 00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:09,840 Speaker 1: the yard sale. Take care, stay safe, and keep up 723 00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:11,759 Speaker 1: the great work, Greg. Greg, thank you so much. This 724 00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:14,360 Speaker 1: really is beautiful and it's super cool, and I have 725 00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:15,960 Speaker 1: to I am in the midst of doing a big 726 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:19,440 Speaker 1: house reord, so I will find a cool place for it, 727 00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:21,279 Speaker 1: and then if Tracy wants it at some point, we'll 728 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:22,600 Speaker 1: hand it off and we'll just trade it back and 729 00:42:22,640 --> 00:42:27,319 Speaker 1: forth for the rest of our lives. Um uh yeah. 730 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:29,000 Speaker 1: It was one of those boxes that I was like, 731 00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:31,680 Speaker 1: so many of the boxes shipped to me, we're books, 732 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:33,560 Speaker 1: and they're obviously like when you pick up a box 733 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:35,440 Speaker 1: of books, you know that's what it is. And I 734 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:37,879 Speaker 1: picked that box up and went, this is not books, uh, 735 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:41,400 Speaker 1: and then opened it and was delighted by the giant 736 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:44,840 Speaker 1: surprise inside. It was pretty If you would like to 737 00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:48,280 Speaker 1: write to us, we're changing offices, so right now emails 738 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:52,200 Speaker 1: the way to come. You can do that at History 739 00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:55,000 Speaker 1: Podcast at iHeart radio dot com. You can also find 740 00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:57,680 Speaker 1: us on social media as missed in History, and we 741 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:01,200 Speaker 1: are of course see to subscribe to. You can do 742 00:43:01,239 --> 00:43:03,040 Speaker 1: that on the I heart radio app or anywhere you 743 00:43:03,040 --> 00:43:10,239 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History 744 00:43:10,239 --> 00:43:13,000 Speaker 1: Class is a production of I heart Radio. For more 745 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:16,080 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 746 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:19,360 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.