Amid the background of social turbulence in the mid-nineteenth century, Gustave Courbet's unconventional paintings of real people in everyday scenes came to embody values with radical political implications. James Rubin addresses the entire range of Courbet's work: from his hunting scenes and spirited landscapes, to his portraits and erotic nudes. He combines a clear reading of the artist's paintings with a rigorous discussion of the unique personal, political and social framework within which they were created.

James Rubin is Professor of Art History at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and also teaches at the Cooper Union in New York City. His books include Impressionism in the Art & Ideas series, Realism and Social Vision in Courbet and Proudhon and Manet's Silence and the Poetics of Bouquets.