The Source of the Loue
1864 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
About this artwork
This landscape depicts the source of the Loue river in the Jura Mountains, capturing the dramatic limestone cliffs and the dark, recessed entrance of the cave. It is a quintessential example of Courbet's focus on the rugged, untamed landscapes of his native Franche-Comté region.
Did you know?
Gustave Courbet was famously obsessed with the source of the Loue river, painting it multiple times throughout his career to explore the rugged geology of his home region. His approach was deeply anti-idealistic; he rejected the romanticized landscapes popular at the time in favor of the raw, physical reality of the earth, often using a palette knife to apply thick, textured paint that mirrored the stone surfaces of the cave.
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The Source of the Loue
Gustave Courbet, 1864
