The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Mme L... (Laure Borreau)

Mme L... (Laure Borreau)

1863
(French, 1819–1877)
Framed: 112.4 x 93 x 12.1 cm (44 1/4 x 36 5/8 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 81 x 61.2 cm (31 7/8 x 24 1/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Courbet once wrote of Laure Borreau, the sitter in this portrait, "I am in love with a splendid lady, the driving force behind my triumph."

Description

Painted during Courbet's stay in the Saintonge region of western France, this portrait depicts Laure Borreau, owner of a fabric store and ladies confectionery. As the leader of the Realist movement in France, Courbet aimed to convey his democratic and socialist ideals by portraying ordinary people in a truthful, unidealized manner. While considering himself a radical innovator, Courbet nonetheless exhibited this portrait under the title Mme L... at the Paris Salon of 1863.
  • 1881
    (Drouot, Paris, France, Artist's estate sale, December 9, 1881, lot 11, stock number 2070, sold to Durand-Ruel)
    1881
    (Durand-Ruel, Paris France, December 10, 1881, sold to Max Flersheim)
    by 1934-1962
    (Paul Rosenberg and Company, New York, NY by 1934, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1962)
    1962-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hamerton, Philip Gilbert. "The Salon of 1863." The Fine Arts Quarterly Review 1 (1863): 15-262. Mentioned: P. 244
    Mantz, Paul. "Salon de 1863." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 14 (1863): 481-506. Mentioned: P. 498-499
    Burty, Philippe. "Une Lettre de M. Courbet." La Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosité June 7, 1863: 253. Mentioned: P. 253
    Exposition des œuvres de Gustave Courbet: a l'École des beaux-arts (mai 1882): Catalogue. Paris: Impr. Émile Martinet, 1882. Mentioned: Supplement p. 26
    Estignard, Alexandre. Courbet Sa Vie, Ses Oeuvres. Besançon: Delagrange-Louys, 1896. Mentioned: P. 162
    Riat, Georges, and Paul Vitry. Gustave Courbet, peintre. Paris, France: H. Floury, 1906. Reproduced: p. 214
    Léger, Charles. Courbet, selon les caricatures et les images. Paris, France: P. Rosenberg, 1920. Reproduced: p. 119
    Léger, Charles. Courbet. Paris: Nilsson, 1925. Mentioned: P. 72
    Alexandre, Arsene. "Portraits et Figures de Femmes." La Renaissance 11 (July/August 1928). Mentioned and reproduced: P. 261, no. 45
    Léger, Charles. Courbet. Paris: Éditions G. Crès, 1929. Mentioned: P. 95, 98; reproduced: Pl. 35
    Courthion, Pierre. Courbet. Paris, France: Librairie Floury, 1931. Mentioned: p. 31; Reproduced: p. 91, pl. 57
    Courthion, Pierre. Courbet. Paris: Librairie Floury, 1931. Mentioned: P. 34, 91; reproduced: Pl. 57
    Léger, Charles. Courbet. Paris, France: Braun, 1934. Reproduced: p.38
    Baillods, Jules. Courbet Vivant. Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1940. Mentioned: P. 48
    Léger, Charles. Courbet et son Temps; Lettres et Documents Inédits. Paris: Éditions Universelles, 1948. Mentioned: P. 86
    Mack, Gerstle. Gustave Courbet. New York, NY: Knopf, 1951. Reproduced: p. 170, pl. 37
    Les Amis de Gustave Courbet 20 (1957): 11. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 11
    Lee, Sherman E. "Year in Review 1962." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art XLVIIII, no.9 (November, 1962):198-227. Mentioned: p. 229, no. 89
    Lurie, Ann Tzeutschler. "Gustave Courbet, Madame Boreau.." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art XLVIIII, no.4 (April, 1962):66-71. Reproduced: cover
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Madame Boreau by Courbet,” April 2, 1962, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Saisselin, Rémy G. Style, Truth, and the Portrait. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1963. Reproduced: p. 76
    Saisselin, Rémy Gilbert. “Portrait in History: Some Connections between Art and Literature.” Apollo: The International Magazine for Collectors 78 (October 1963): 281–88. Reproduced: P. 287
    Borea, E. "Notiziario: Style, Truth, and the Portrait." Arte Antica e Moderna 24 (Ottobre-Dicembre 1963): 7-8. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 7-8, no. 16
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 170 archive.org
    Courbet dans les Collections Privées Françaises ... 5 mai-25 juin 1966, [Galerie] Claude Aubry ... Paris. Paris: Galerie C. Aubry, 1966. Reproduced: no. 13
    Aymar, Gordon Christian. The Art of Portrait Painting; Portraits Through the Centuries As Seen Through the Eyes of a Practicing Portrait Painter. Philadelphia, PA: Chilton Book Co, 1967. Reproduced: p. 78, pl. 35
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 170 archive.org
    Laclotte, Michel, Palma Bucarelli, and Hélène Toussaint. Gustave Courbet (1819-1877). Rome. Italy: De Luca, 1969.
    Bonniot, Roger. Gustave Courbet en Saintonge, 1862-1863. Paris, France: C. Klincksieck, 1973. Reproduced: fig. 53; mentioned: P. 124, 209, 217-248, 269, 295-299
    Champa, Kermit Swiler. Studies in Early Impressionism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1973. Reproduced: p. 34, fig. 47
    Daber, Alfred. Courbet, 1819-1877: Paris, France: Galerie Daber, 1975. Reproduced: no. 6
    Toussaint, Hélène. Gustave Courbet: 1819-1877 : [exposition organisée par la Réunion des musées nationaux et l'Arts Council of Great Britain], Grand Palais, 30 septembre 1977-2 janvier 1978 : [catalogue. Paris, France: Ministère de la culture et de l'environnement, Éditions des musées nationaux, 1977. Reproduced: no. 68
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 210 archive.org
    Fernier, Robert. La vie et l'œuvre de Gustave Courbet: catalogue raisonné. Lausanne, Switzerland: Bibliothèque des Arts, 1978. Reproduced: vol. I, no. 358
    Hofmann, Werner, and Klaus Herding. Courbet und Deutschland: [Hamburger Kunsthalle, 19. Oktober-17. Dezember 1978, Städt. Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinst. Frankfurt am Main, 17. Januar-18. März 1979. Köln, Germany: Du Mont, 1978. Reproduced: p. 37, fig. e
    Heilmeier, Hans. "Von Ingres bis Picasso." Das Kunstblatt (1978): 277-288. Reproduced: P. 280
    Morse, John D. Old Master Paintings in North America: Over 3000 Masterpieces by 50 Great Artists. New York, NY: Abbeville Press, 1979. Reproduced: p. 72
    Abe, Yoshio. Courbet. Kūrube. Tōkyō, Japan: Kōdansha, 1981. Reproduced: p. 116, no. 30
    Foucart, Bruno, Courbet. Norwalk, CT: Easton Press, 1983. Reproduced: p. 48; Mentioned: p. 69
    Courthion, Pierre. L'opera completa di Courbet. Milano, Italy: Rizzoli, 1985. Reproduced: no. 341
    Faunce, Sarah, and Linda Nochlin. Courbet Reconsidered. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Museum, 1988. Reproduced: no. 40
    ten-Doesschate Chu,, Petra. Letters of Gustave Courbet. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1992. Mentioned: p. 218-219; Reproduced: p. 221, fig. 35
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Masterpieces from East and West. New York, NY: Rizzoli International, 1992. Reproduced: P. 140
    Abe, Yoshio . Kūrube = Gustave Courbet. Tōkyō, Japan: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1993. Reproduced: p. 91, pl. 37
    Chong, Alan. European & American Painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art: A Summary Catalogue. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1993. Reproduced: P. 45
    Andreotti, Margherita. "The Joseph Winterbotham Collection." Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 20, no. 2 (1994): 111-92. Mentioned: P. 112 www.jstor.org
    Kostenevich, A. G. Hidden treasures revealed: impressionist masterpieces and other important French paintings preserved by the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. New York, NY: Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg in association with H.N. Abrams, 1995. Reproduced: p. 33
    Fernier, Jean-Jacques. Courbet, l'amour--: Baltasar Lobo, sculptures : Christian Welter, un regard amoureux. Ornans, France: Musée Gustave Courbet, 1996. Reproduced: p. 82
    ten-Doesschate Chu, Petra, and Jörg Zutter. Courbet: artiste et promoteur de son œuvre. Paris, France: Flammarion, 1998. Reproduced: no. 19; p. 26-27
    D'Argencourt, Louise and Roger Diederen. The Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue of Paintings, Part Four; European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Reproduced: p. 61
    Bajou-Charpentreau, Valérie, and Gustave Courbet. Courbet. Paris, France: A. Biro, 2003. Reproduced: p. 268
    Riat, Georges. Gustave Courbet. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Baseline Co, Ltd., 2008. Reproduced: p. 126, fig. 70
    Lobstein, Dominique. "Le Retour de la Conference et les Salons de 1863." In Le Retour de la Conférence: Un Tableau Disparu, 29-36. [Ornans]: Musée Gustave Courbet; Besançon: Sekoya, 2015. Reproduced: P. 32
  • 1863 • PARIS • 1874: Revolution in Art - From the Salon to Impressionism. Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Köln, Germany (organizer) (March 15-July 28, 2024) https://www.wallraf.museum/ausstellungen/aktuell/2024-03-15-paris-1874/.
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).
    Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from American Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (May 28-July 30, 2000).
    Courbet, Artist and Entrepeneur. Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland (November 21, 1998-February 21, 1999).
    Courbet Reconsidered. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (November 4, 1988-January 16, 1989); Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN (February 18-April 30, 1989).
    Courbet und Deutschland. Stadische Galerie,Hamburg, Germany (October 19-December 17, 1978); Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, Germany (January 17-March 18, 1979).
    Gustave Courbet. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (October 1, 1977-January 2, 1978).
    Gustave Courbet 1819-1877. Royal Academy, London, United Kingdom (January 19-March 19, 1977); Grand Palais, Paris, France (October 1, 1977-January 2, 1978).
    Courbet 1819-1877. Galerie Daber, Paris, France (October 16 to November 15, 1975).
    Salon. Palais des Champs-Élysées, Paris, France. Salon (1863).
    Gustave Courbet 1819-1877. Villa Medici, Rome, Italy (October 28, 1969-January 6, 1970).
    Courbet in Private French Collections. Galerie Claude Aubry, Paris, France (May 5-June 25, 1966).
    Style, Truth and the Portrait. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 19, 1963).
    Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).
    Gustave Courbet 1819-1877. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA; (December 17, 1959-February 14, 1960); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (February 26, 1960-April 14, 1960).
    Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Gustave Courbet. Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY (1956).
    Exhibition of 19th Century French Paintings. Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY (1954).
    Great French Masters of the 19th Century. Possibly Paul Rosenberg & Co, New York, NY (November, 17 -December 6, 1947).
    Art of the United Nations. M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA (1945).
    Great French Masters of the Nineteenth Century: Corot to Van Gogh. Paul Rosenberg & Co. New York, NY (1942).
    French Art of the 19th and 20th Centuries . Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Providence, RI (1942).
    Honderd Jaar Fransche Kunst. Stedelijk Museum. Amsterdam, Netherlands (1938).
    Gustave Courbet 1819-1877. London, Rosenberg & Helft Ltd., London, United Kingdom (1938).
    Exposition Gustave Courbet. Paul Rosenberg, Paris, France (1937).
    Loans in Honor of the Opening of the Avery Memorial. Wadsworth Athenaeum. Hartford, CT (1934).
    Exposition d'oeuvres importantes de Grands Maîtres du dix-neuvième siècle. Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris, France (1931).
    Exposition Gustave Courbet. Palais des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris (Petit Palais), Paris, France (1929).
    Portraits et figures de femmes. Ingres à Picasso. Galerie de La Renaissance, Paris, France (1928).
    Cinquante ans de peinture française. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France (1925).
    Exposition d'art français du XIXe siècle. Paul Rosenberg, Possibly Paris, France (1917).
  • {{cite web|title=Mme L... (Laure Borreau)|url=false|author=Gustave Courbet|year=1863|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.2