The Stream of the Puits Noir at Ornans 1868

Gustave Courbet’s oil on canvas painting depicts a stream in the area around his home town in Ornans, France. In this image, Courbet challenges the conventions of the French Academy, the dominant art institution of 19th-century France. Courbet’s Realist art sought to represent the world as it is, rather than idealizing it, and he found inspiration in the everyday. He focuses on the natural world, perhaps as a reaction to the increasing industrialization of France at this time. His interest in a specific location, the stream of the Puits Noir, reflects a shift away from the universalizing claims of academic art, toward a more grounded sense of place. The painting is an exploration of the relationship between art and society. As art historians, we can look at exhibition records, letters, and critical reviews to better understand the meaning of Courbet's paintings for his contemporaries. The history of art gives us a lens through which to understand not just the painting, but also the society in which it was made.