From July 17, 2026, the exhibition "I, Gustave Courbet - Painter and Rebel" at Museum Folkwang is dedicated to the radical realism and political commitment of the French painter Gustave Courbet. The focus is on his uncompromising visual language, with which he opposed the idealizing aesthetics of classicism and romanticism and depicted the lives of ordinary people. With his socially critical motifs and innovative painting technique, he is regarded as a key pioneer of modern art. The show presents central groups of works, including self-portraits, public representations, social realities, erotic paintings, landscapes and his years in exile.
The retrospective also sheds light on Courbet's exciting life stages. The most important events include his political rise during the Paris Commune, his conviction for alleged involvement in the destruction of the Vendôme Column, his six-month imprisonment in the Sainte-Pélagie and his self-exile to Switzerland from 1873. Courbet finally lived in La Tour-de-Peilz, where he died in 1877. The exhibition illustrates not only his artistic genius, but also his political work and his influence on modernism.
Services
- Admission to the exhibition "I, Gustave Courbet - Painter and Rebel"
- Admission to the permanent collection of the Museum Folkwang
