Practice question · Multiple choice
Why did A Burial at Ornans scandalise the Salon when its subject, a village funeral, was entirely ordinary?
Hints
- The offense was not the subject in itself.
- Think about the seven metres of canvas.
Show the answer
A. A village funeral painted at history-painting scale
Why
Scale carried rank. By giving provincial mourners a coronation-sized canvas, Courbet argued in the Académie’s own grammar that ordinary life deserved the space of kings. The jury understood him perfectly, that is why they were furious.
Practise Realism and Impressionism
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