The National Museum of Western Art

Updated 06 March 2023

Currently not on display

  • Share
    ×
    • twitter
    • facebook
    • line
    • Copy permalink
  • Enlarge
  • Zoom
  • Print

Currently not on display

Gustave Courbet

Ornans, 1819 - La Tour-de-Peilz, 1877

Gypsy in Reflection

Date 1869
Materials and Techniques oil on canvas
Size(cm) 50.3 x 61
Inscriptions Signed and dated lower right: 69 / G. Courbet.
Credit Line Matsukata Collection
Standard ref. Fernier 663; 329
Category Paintings
Collection Number P.1959-0060

Courbet's images of the nude, such as those seen in Bathing Women (Musée Fabre, Montpellier), incurred public indignation with their depiction of uncouth, less than ideal figures, and they eventually led to scandal. On the other hand, his images of clothed women, with their expression of his splendid sense of realism, received wide acclaim. This work was painted in 1869, when Courbet was socially accepted and came to maturity. A young gypsy with luxuriant hair falling around her shoulders stands in deep reflection. The close-up view of the woman's torso provides an excellent example of Courbet's superb sense of sensuality, however we can also find a quiet poesy in this work. Courbet struck an aggressive posture in the face of power throughout his life, and was quite self-revealing. Courbet's sentiments are apparent in this image of a gypsy lost in thought. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.64)

Provenance

Etienne Baudry, 1882; sale, X...and Z..., Amsterdam, 13 November 1917, lot 138; Galerie J. Allard, Paris, stock no. 6890; purchased from the above by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe, 1921 [see letter from Galerie J. Allard to Léonce Bénédite, dated 15 November 1921, in the Bibliothèque centrale des musées nationaux, Paris (copy in NMWA curatorial file)]; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.

Exhibition History

1882
Des œuvres de Gustave Courbet, École National des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 0  1882 - 0  1882, cat. no. 15
1923
Peintres français des XIXe et XXe siècles, Praha, 0  1923 - 0  1923, cat. no. 78, repr.
1924
Exposition d'art français, San Francisco, 0  1924 - 0  1925
1929
Gustave Courbet, Petit Palais, Paris, 0  1929 - 0  1929, cat. no. 128
1952
Gustave Courbet, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Besançon, 0  1952 - 0  1952, cat. no. 41
1955
Mostra di capolavori della pittura francese dell'ottocento, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, 0 February 1955 - 0 March 1955
1960
The Masterpieces of the Ex-Matsukata Collection, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 14 May 1960 - 10 July 1960, cat. no. 19, repr.
1964
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Nakajima Sports Center of Hokkaido Prefecture, 22 August 1964 - 13 September 1964, cat. no. 5
1965
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa, 22 September 1965 - 10 October 1965, cat. no. 4
1965
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Okayama Prefecture, Okayama, 20 October 1965 - 7 November 1965, cat. no. 4
1970
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Nagasaki Prefectural Museum, Nagasaki, 18 October 1970 - 15 November 1970, cat. no. 15
1971
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Toyama Prefectural Center, Museum of Art, Toyama, 2 October 1971 - 24 October 1971, cat. no. 15
1972
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Shinano Museum of Art of Nagano Prefecture, Nagano, 12 October 1972 - 5 November 1972, cat. no. 15
1973
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Kochi Prefecture, Kochi, 28 October 1973 - 25 November 1973, cat. no. 13
1974
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, 13 October 1974 - 10 November 1974, cat. no. 13
1974
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Saga Prefectural Museum, Saga, 16 November 1974 - 1 December 1974, cat. no. 13
1975
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Yamagata Museum, Yamagata, 1 November 1975 - 30 November 1975, cat. no. 15
1976
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Tottori Prefectural Museum, Tottori, 9 October 1976 - 7 November 1976, cat. no. 8
1976
Millet, Corot, Courbet et l' École de Barbizon, Musée Départemental d'Art Tochigi, Utsunomiya, 20 November 1976 - 24 December 1976, cat. no. 75, repr.
1977
[Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Nara Prefectural Museum, Nara, 15 October 1977 - 13 November 1977, cat. no. 5
1978
[Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces from the National Museum of Western Art, The Art Center of Oita Prefecture, Oita, 20 December 1978 - 31 January 1979, cat. no. 6
1984
Millet, Corot, Courbet, Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, 1 September 1984 - 10 October 1984, cat. no. 63, repr.
1989
Gustave Courbet, Bridgestone Museum of Art, 3 June 1989 - 6 August 1989, cat. no. 45, col. repr.
1996
The Crossing Visions: European and Modern Japanese Art from the Collections of The National Museum of Western Art & The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 20 July 1996 - 8 September 1996, cat. no. 89
2000
Tanka at the National Museum of Western Art: An Encounter between Poet and Art, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 25 July 2000 - 29 October 2000, cat. no. 30
2010
SHADOWS: Works from the National Museums of Art, The National Art Center, Tokyo, 8 September 2010 - 18 October 2010, cat. no. 27
2012
Bohémes: De Léonard da Vinci à Picasso, Grand Palais, Paris, 26 September 2012 - 14 January 2013, cat. no. 46, col. repr., FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE, Madrid, 6 February - 5 May 2013, cat no. 29
2017
[Traveling Exhibitions Presenting National Art Museum Collections, Fiscal 2017] Muse: Women before the Artists' Eyes: From the Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art, 22 April 2017 - 2 July 2017, Akita Museum of Modern Art, 15 July-18 September, cat. no. 35

Bibliography

1929
Gronkowski, C. L'exposition Gustave Courbet au Petit Palais. Gazette des Beaux-Arts. ser. 6, tome 2, 1929, pp. 19-37, fig. 6.
1955
La Collection Matsukata, Tokyo, Asahi- Shimbun, 1955 (Japanese), no. 2, col. repr.
1959
Zusetsu Sekai Bunkashi Taikei. vol. 10, Tokyo, Kadokawa Shoten, 1959 (Japanese), p. 86, no.3, col. repr.
1959
Mizue: Tokushu Matsukata Korekushon no Kaiga. no. 651, Tokyo, Bijutsu Shuppansha, July 1959 (Japanese), , n. p. repr.
1961
Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-84.
1971
Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1971 (Japanese), no. 15, repr.
1975
Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1975 (Japanese), no. 25, repr.
1978
Fernier, R. La vie et l'œuvre de Gustave Courbet. tome 2, Lausanne/Paris, 1978, p. 72, no. 663, repr.
1978
Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1978 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 31, repr.
1979
The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of Paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 72, repr.
1990
The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 489.
2006
Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 64, col. repr.
2009
Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 64, col. repr.
2012
Bohèmes: De Léonard da Vinci à Picasso(exh. cat.). Paris, Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais, c2012, Paris: cat. no. 46, col. repr.; Madrid: cat. no. 29, col. repr.
2013
Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 79, col. repr.
2018
The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 1: Paintings, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2018, cat. no. 329, col. repr.

Page top

Permalink:https://collection.nmwa.go.jp/en/P.1959-0060.html

©2022 The National Museum of Western Art, Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art