The Source (Bather at the Source)
- Artist
- Gustave Courbet
- Date
- 1868
- Style
- Realism
- Genre
- Nude painting (nu)
- Location
- Musée d'Orsay
Gustave Courbet's 1868 The Source (Bather at the Source) is a striking example of Realism, emphasizing the artist’s commitment to portraying life accurately. Executed in oil on canvas, the work depicts a nude figure bathing by a natural spring, capturing raw human intimacy and vulnerability. Unlike traditional Nude painting (nu), which often idealized beauty, Courbet’s piece emphasizes honest, unembellished reality. By rejecting academic conventions, he pioneered a bold approach that influenced generations of artists.
Related artworks
- Head of a child by Albrecht Durer
- Lydia crocheting in the garden at marly by Mary Cassatt
- Head of Sara in a Bonnet Looking Left by Mary Cassatt
- Saint Anthony Of Padua Adore The Child by Bartolome Esteban Murillo
- Don Quixote by Gustave Dore
- The Lustful by Gustave Dore
- The Immaculate Conception and heads outlined by Bartolome Esteban Murillo
- St. George and the Dragon by Albrecht Durer
- The Coronation of the Virgin by Albrecht Durer
- Baruch Writes Jeremiah's Prophecies by Gustave Dore