Born of both materialism and positivism, Gustave Courbet stands out as one of the most complex painters of the nineteenth century. Rejecting tradition, Courbet confronted the public with the truths of his time as he liberated painting from the rules of convention in both subject and style, and established himself as the leader of pictorial realism. This study of Courbet meticulously retraces historical accounts of his contemporaries including the praises and critiques inspired by this controversial painter. Through his astute research as an art historian, Georges Riat offers a new approach to the work of an artist who embodied the decisive break with academic painting.