Le Puits-Noir by Courbet Baltimore MA

Gustave Courbet (1819–1877) was a controversial French painter, who bridged the gap between Romanticism and the Impressionist school of painters. He was controversial not only because he addressed social issues with his work, such as peasants and the working condition of the poor, and the rural bourgeoisie, but also because of the unsentimental way in which he portrayed them. Unlike the Romantic school of painters, Courbet did not use smooth lines and soft forms