"The Desperate Man"

 

For this assignment, I chose to take a look at Gustave Courbet’s “The Desperate Man.” This painting is quintessential piece of artwork from the Romanticism era because it perfectly embodies everything Romantics stood for at the time. Courbet moved to Paris when he was 20 years old to pursue a degree in law. Quickly after getting to Paris, Courbet decided to go against the grain, “to lead the life of a savage, the great, independent vagabond life of the Bohemian.”

This piece of artwork is meant to completely represent the live that Gustave Courbet lived after deciding to pursue a career in the arts. He truly managed to live the life of a savage; he had very little money, very little food and initially, very little success. Once Courbet managed to make a name for himself, he was said to be an unbelievably arrogant man. This is partly due to the fact this his artwork was considered to be very sensual and he was known for as being one of the biggest heartthrobs of his day. Despite his newfound status and admiration, he had major underlying fears. He feared that he could not keep up with the progressing and more modern art emerging around him, he feared that his art was not good enough and most of all, he feared the unknown future that awaited him. These fears are what inspired “The Desperate Man.” The fact that this painting was kept in hiding for the majority of Courbet’s life shows it genuine depiction of real life and the uncertainty that is holds.

Part of the reason that I feel this piece of art is and will always be relevant is because of the fear of the unknown. Among the most commonly held fears among human beings are the fears of death, separation and extinction. Now, I do not believe that these things in and of themselves are inherently fearful or scary, but the unknown aspects that accompany them are. The uncertainty of what comes after death or what separational and loneliness will do to us has the ability to drive some people to the brink of insanity. We, as a population, fear what we do not know. Unfortunately, the list of what we do not know is a lengthy one that, for all we know, may never shorten. What we do not know to be true can be unbelievably terrifying and there is nothing to do but accept the unknown, which is also causes unsettling feelings. However, if there is one thing that can be determined from the unknown, it is that everybody faces the same uncertainties in life.