Deer in a Snowy Landscape 1867

Gustave Courbet's "Deer in a Snowy Landscape" is an oil painting which captures a winter scene, probably dating from the mid-19th century. The materiality here is all about texture. Notice how Courbet builds up the impasto, layering paint to mimic the rough surfaces of snow-laden rocks and foliage. This technique gives the landscape a tangible quality, almost as if you could reach out and feel the crispness of the winter air. Courbet was celebrated and sometimes criticized for his realism, his commitment to depicting the world as he saw it. He was an advocate for painting from direct observation, going out into nature to capture its essence. The visible labor in his application of paint, the sheer physicality of the medium, connects this artwork to the broader social context of labor. It reminds us that art is not just about ideas, but also about the work of the hand.