''Proudhon and His Children'' is an oil on canvas group portrait by

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

, created in 1865, now held in the

Petit Palais The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The main figure is a posthumously produced image of French philosopher

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Socia ...

, who appears with his two children reading and playing.

History

Two other titles were given by Courbet to this painting, namely ''Proudhon and His Family'' and ''Pierre Joseph Proudhon and his children in 1853''. A letter from the painter to Jules-Antoine Castagnary, from July 14, 1867, suggests that Euphrasia, the philosopher's wife, appeared instead of the basket and the wicker armchair covered with fabrics. The canvas was therefore repainted, shortly before the artist's major personal exhibition in 1867. The painting seems a priori to be a posthumous tribute to

, who died on January 20, 1865, but in reality, the painter, knowing that his friend was sick, had the idea, shortly before his death, to execute a series of portraits depicting him. He also created two bust portraits, one showing Proudhon, and the other his wife. Seized with other paintings by Courbet at Durand-Ruel in June 1873, it was sold on November 26, 1877 to Jean-Hubert Debrousse, who acquired it for 1,500 francs, when the asking price was 5,000 francs. After Debrousse's death, his collection was auctioned at April 1900. The painting was then bought for 6,150 francs by the city of

, and is now exhibited at the

Description

The philosopher, dressed in a blouse and trousers in toile de Nîmes, is shown seated, posing with his left hand on his face and the right hand on his leg, with his two daughters, one who reads, while the other engage in playful activity, to his left. Proudhon is seated on the steps in front of the entrance of the Parisian apartment where he lived at the intersection of the old Rue d'Hell and 146, Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs. There are four books, a pencil case, and a manuscript, under which, traced in the stone of the last step, one can read "PJP 1853".Martin Écalle, "A propos du portrait de „Proudhon et ses Enfants" par Gustave Courbet", ''Bulletin du Laboratoire du Louvre'', no 4,‎ 1959 (French)

History

Description

References

Further reading