At the Met, art historian and curator Kathryn Calley Galitz led a compelling talk and tour exploring the provocative legacy of Gustave Courbet (1819–1877), the self-proclaimed “proudest and most arrogant man in France.” Galitz, a specialist in late 18th- and early 19th-century French art, traced Courbet’s scandal-filled career and his sensational debut at the Salon of 1850–51, where he stunned audiences with paintings inspired by his native Ornans.

After a public fight with the superintendent of fine arts, Comte Nieuwerkerke, several of his works were refused display in the great Salon and Universal Exposition of 1855. Courbet countered with his own Pavilion of Realism, audaciously built within sight of the official Salon, where he exhibited, among other works, a monumental canvas, The Painter's Studio (Musée d'Orsay). In 1870, he rejected the coveted award of the Legion of Honor, proclaiming his freedom and independence from any form of government.