The Resume

(June 10, 1819-December 31, 1877)
Born in Ornans, France
Birth name was Jean Desire Gustave Courbet
Considered a founder of the Realist movement in painting
Paintings include 'Self-Portrait (The Desperate Man)' (1843), 'The Man with a Pipe' (1849), 'Stone-Breakers' (1849), 'A Burial at Ornans' (1851), 'The Artist's Studio' (1855), 'Sleep' (1866) and 'Portrait of Jo' (1866)
Member of the Paris Commune during the Franco-Prussian War (March-May, 1871)

Why he might be annoying:

He put on a lot of weight over the years due to his love of eating and alcohol.
He had a child out of wedlock with one of his models.
He declared, 'I am the proudest and most arrogant man in France.'
He died of edema from heavy drinking.
Smithsonian magazine wrote that he made 'more recent shockmeisters like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Robert Mapplethorpe seem almost conventional.'

Why he might not be annoying:

Cezanne praised his 'umlimited talent' while Whistler hailed him as his hero.
He influenced the later generation of Impressionists, including Manet, Monet and Renoir.
When three of his canvases were rejected for the Exposition Universelle (1855), he set up his own exhibition next door.
He said about attacks on his paintings, 'I don't care, for when I am no longer controversial, I will no longer be important.'
The French government held him personally responsible for the destruction of the Vendome Column, a monument to Napoleon, by the Paris Commune, and demanded that he pay 323,000 francs (equivalent to $1.3 million) for a replacement.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 19th Century Painters
• Alcohol Contributed to My Death
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 26]
• Exiles
• I am a Citizen of France
• I Died Before the Ball Dropped [December 31st] (Ranked: 1877)
• I Fathered Children Out of Wedlock
• I Gained a Lot of Weight/Fame Adds Pounds
• I Turned Down the Legion of Honor
• Known By a Middle Name
• Look at Me, My Picture Is Art
• Painters
• Profiles 27751-28000 (Ranked: 27798)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 44 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 119 Votes: 47.90% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 69.23% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 24 Votes: 54.17% Annoying