The Stone Breakers
E69660
The Stone Breakers is a pioneering 1849 realist painting by Gustave Courbet that starkly depicts manual laborers breaking stones, challenging romanticized portrayals of rural life.
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
painting
ⓘ
realist painting ⓘ |
| artisticTheme |
anti‑romanticism
ⓘ
labor ⓘ poverty ⓘ social realism ⓘ working class ⓘ |
| artStyleCharacteristic |
earthy color palette
ⓘ
monumental treatment of ordinary subjects ⓘ rough brushwork ⓘ |
| commissionedBy | unknown patron ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | France ⓘ |
| creator | Gustave Courbet ⓘ |
| criticReception |
controversial at time of first exhibition
ⓘ
criticized by others for ugliness and lack of ideal beauty ⓘ praised by some for honesty of depiction ⓘ |
| depicts |
manual laborers
ⓘ
rural labor ⓘ stone breakers ⓘ |
| destroyedIn | 1945 ⓘ |
| destructionEvent | World War II ⓘ |
| exhibitedAt | Paris Salon ⓘ |
| exhibitionYear |
1850
ⓘ
1851 ⓘ |
| firstOwner | Gustave Courbet ⓘ |
| genre | genre painting ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
challenged romanticized portrayals of rural life
ⓘ
pioneering work of Realism ⓘ |
| inception | 1849 ⓘ |
| influenced |
development of social realism in painting
ⓘ
later realist artists ⓘ |
| locationOfCreation | France ⓘ |
| lostOrDestroyed | true ⓘ |
| medium | oil paint ⓘ |
| movement | Realism ⓘ |
| notableFeature |
absence of idealization
ⓘ
focus on contemporary everyday subject matter ⓘ life‑size scale of figures ⓘ |
| originalLanguageTitle | Les Casseurs de pierres ⓘ |
| portrays |
anonymous workers
ⓘ
back‑breaking physical labor ⓘ non‑idealized human figures ⓘ |
| previousLocation |
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
ⓘ
surface form:
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
|
| setInPeriod | mid‑19th century France ⓘ |
| subjectMatter | rural working class in France ⓘ |
| support | canvas ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.