The Edge of the Pool (Au Bord de l'Etang)

Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Courbet painted this cool and rather mysterious landscape for the marquis de Pomereu, with whom he had stayed near his native town of Ornans in eastern France. The artist renders the characteristic features of the Doubs region—craggy rocks, dark pools, tall oaks—with a great range of color tones and variations in technique, including a liberal use of his palette knife as well as his brush. He attentively contrasts the brightly illuminated green strip of the far bank with the murky center of the pool. The small figures of the woman on the bank and the man in the boat add a pastoral note to the painting.
Caption
Gustave Courbet French, 1819–1877. The Edge of the Pool (Au Bord de l'Etang), 1867. Oil on canvas, 31 3/4 x 39 3/8 in. (80.6 x 100 cm) Frame: 40 x 48 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (101.6 x 122.6 x 12.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer, Mrs. Frederic B. Pratt, and Hyman Brown, by exchange, 1992.17. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1992.17_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
The Edge of the Pool (Au Bord de l'Etang)
Date
1867
Geography
Place made: France
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
31 3/4 x 39 3/8 in. (80.6 x 100 cm) Frame: 40 x 48 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (101.6 x 122.6 x 12.1 cm)
Signatures
Signed and dated lower left: "67/Gustave Courbet"
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer, Mrs. Frederic B. Pratt, and Hyman Brown, by exchange
Accession Number
1992.17
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
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