COURBET, Gustave
(b. 1819, Ornans, d. 1877, La Tour-de-Peilz)

Les Gorges de Saillon

1875
Oil on canvas, 42 x 33 cm
Private collection

Although, with its unique rock formation, the landscape appears fantastical, Courbet did in fact depict the scene from life, with recent research pinpointing the exact location as the Grotte des Géants, or 'Cave of Giants' in Saillon, Valais, south-west Switzerland. The fantastical rock formation was not a result of Courbet’s imagination, but a genuine natural feature.




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