top of page
The Painter's Studio, like A Burial at Ornans, is considered a masterpiece of the Realist movement.
Courbet is taking an episode of The Last Judgement - where Christ judges all souls, sending some to Heaven and others to Hell.
He replaces the Biblical figures with contemporary subjects.
He represents himself, as the judge in the center, which was also very provocative.
To the left, he paints those he condemns : art critics (the skull on the newspaper), the Academy (the sculpture at the back), Romantics (the musical instruments on the floor), Emperor Napoleon III (sat on a chair near the dog)...
