Courbet didn’t do it

No Courbet didn’t do it. He didn’t paint the upper part of L’Origine du monde. A few weeks back we all read that in 2010 an art collector bought what was supposed to be the missing face of L’Origine du Monde from an antique dealer. Experts from the Musé d’Orsay rejected this hypothesis on the basis that the style is different, the size of L’Origine du Monde corresponds to that of standard frames used at the time (46x55cm) and that, in short, this story is totally erroneous. To back this up, there are additional interesting hints that are worthwhile heeding.

First of all, in his time, Courbet was a high-profile personality. Besides being a renowned artist he was involved in politics. He participated in the Commune uprising in Paris and was later exiled to Switzerland. From what is known, he was also an original character, cavalier in his manners, famous for building his reputation around scandals. When L’Origine du Monde was exhibited, not publicly but in private apartments, Courbet was known to have been boisterous about it. If he had painted a head to L’Origine du Monde and then removed it to keep the bottom part only, probably, he would not have made a secret of it.

Secondly, if Courbet had gone as far as to paint a torso and a head what about the arms and the legs? Why stop short? Why not complete such a fine work of art?

Thirdly, why not share in the novel theory, which intimates that L’Origine du Monde may have been painted from a photo representing exactly what we see in the painting in question? The position of the subject and the way the arms, legs, and the head are sharply sheared from the painting denote a scene taken with a camera.

It is “much ado about nothing”, but it is also a good excuse to pay a visit to this “troublesome” painting at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.