Around 1840 -1877 · Jura, Fontainebleau, stream and realistic material

Courbet enters the forest through his material: wet rock, dark stream, cave, foliage and deer coat make up a dense, physical world without idealization.

Gustave Courbet's forest is rooted in several lived territories. Around Ornans and in the Jura, springs, streams, caves and limestone cliffs form a familiar landscape that the painter works with knives and impasto. In Fontainebleau, he encountered another type of undergrowth, already frequented by the landscapers and artists of Barbizon. Courbet does not seek panoramic views. It often tightens the framing on the water, the rock and the plant masses, until the humidity and weight of the terrain are felt. The deer often introduce hunting and animal presence, to the point of making the humidity and weight of the terrain feel. The deer introduce hunting and animal presence without necessarily transforming the scene into a heroic story. In Ruisseau de la Forêt, Jura, water opens a line of light among greens and browns. Forest Cave, on the contrary, pushes towards mineral darkness. The forest thus becomes a material workshop where painting, geology and living things remain inseparable. The "Forests of Gustave Courbet" selection notably compares Ruisseau de la Forêt, Jura and Cerf dans la forêt. His reading favors figures.

Courbet does not look at the forest from afar: he paints from its humidity, in contact with the rock, water, bark and coat.