1854
Oil on canvas, 27 x 46 cm
Musée Fabre, Montpellier
In 1854 Courbet stayed with Bruyas In Montpellier. His great painting Bonjour Monsieur Courbet seals their friendship and collaboration. It was at this point that he had the idea of a huge composition showing his rue Hautefeuille studio and decided that he should return to Ornans. Before leaving he paid homage to his environment by painting himself as a little dot set against the immensity of the Mediterranean.
