In 2025, the Musée d'Orsay began restoring Gustave Courbet's monumental painting. The history of Burial at Ornans has been marked by numerous exhibitions, frequent movements, dismantling, and reassembly of the work since its creation, weakening the canvas.  The expansion stretcher, added in 1884, was deformed under the weight of the work, affecting the tension of the support. The canvas also had seams, folds, deformations, and tears. 

AFMO invites you to learn more about the restoration process through a private visit at the Musée d'Orsay on Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 9am.

Event reserved for AFMO Patron-level members and above.

All invitations are personal and non-transferable.

Image: Gustave Courbet, A Burial at Ornans, between 1849 and 1850. Don Mlle Juliette Courbet, 1881. ©RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Gérard Blot / Hervé Lewandowski