The Leopold Museum presents the first solo exhibition in Austria for one of the trailblazers of realist art: French artist Gustave Courbet (1819-1877).
- Full retrospective with c. 130 exhibits
- …incl. 87 paintings
- Numerous international loans
- Covers all periods of his oeuvre
- Runs Feb 19 – Jun 21, 2026
- Book tickets* for the Leopold Museum
- See also:
- Leopold Museum overview
- Art exhibitions in Vienna
Realist and Rebel
(GUSTAVE COURBET, After Dinner at Ornans, 1849 © Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts; photo: GrandPalaisRmn (PBA, Lille)/Philipp Bernard)
The Realist and Rebel exhibition subtitle reflects the parallel that drove Courbet’s painting. At that time, to depict reality was, in itself, an act of rebellion.
Courbet tore up the book of art and steered away from the idealised historical, mythological and academically-driven motifs popular in the 1700s. Instead, he painted the day-to-day reality of his own era.
For example: ordinary people doing ordinary things, as seen in 1849’s After Dinner at Ornans. When you see this large-format painting, you can imagine the impression it must have made alongside scenes from Olympus and similar.
This groundbreaking work won a Paris Salon gold medal and a sale…to the French government.
However, despite such official recognition, Courbet faced considerable criticism and mockery for his realist approach. Fortunately for us, he did not let that impede his progress.
Indeed, as you wander through the exhibition, you get a feel for Courbet’s “no f’s given” character. A man of confidence with an independent and egalitarian spirit (be sure to view 1854’s The Meeting, for example, which seemed to me a little like a modern update for Bruegel’s The Painter and the Buyer from the 1500s).
(A view of the exhibition © Leopold Museum, Vienna; photo: Reiner Riedler)
A man with a sense of humour, too, I might add. And one unafraid to shatter convention, indulge in social criticism, and raise a middle finger to aggrieved artistic conservatism.
The departure from tradition marks Courbet as one of the pioneers of realism, but his radical attitudes found even further expression.
1866’s The Origin of the World, for example, presented female nakedness with a brazen disregard for the existing moral conventions and attracting the ire of one Alexandre Dumas Fils, son of the more famous Dumas. This exhibition is only the fourth time the painting has been on show outside of France.
Courbet also produced portraits as expressions of mood and character rather than fulfilling some representative role.
(Félix Nadar, Portrait of Gustave Courbet, 1866 © Leopold Museum, Vienna, Donation Christian Skrein; photo: Leopold Museum, Vienna)
As such, Courbet could be considered a pioneer of modern painting per se. Many works in the exhibition certainly feel before their time.
And perhaps a pioneer of the modern artist, too. For example, putting on his own exhibitions and thus setting a precedent for independent art away from official channels.
Given the above, it might come as no surprise to learn that Courbet was also politically active, though his participation in the 1871 Paris Commune led to imprisonment, then a life in exile in Switzerland.
The exhibition at the Leopold Museum, a cooperation with Museum Folkwang, presents some of the key works that give Courbet his renommé. But it also introduces us to his lesser-known art, such as preparatory charcoal drawings or the material he produced after leaving France.
As a rather sweet side note, Courbet had always wanted a major solo exhibition in Vienna. Given his role in art history, it feels somehow right that the Leopold Museum has now fulfilled this wish.
Dates, tickets & tips
Enjoy the journey through the oeuvre and influence of Gustave Courbet from February 19th to June 21st. An entrance ticket from or for the Leopold Museum includes the special exhibitions within.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
For more 19th-century political art, visit the Albertina and their Honoré Daumier exhibition (until May 25th, 2026).
And for more even more 19th-century art, albeit almost entirely unpolitical, visit Lower Belvedere for the bucolic paintings of Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller and contemporaries like Corot or Constable. A different vibe to Courbet.
How to get there
See my main museum article for full travel tips. The Leopold Museum is inside the MuseumsQuartier complex, which is flanked by two subway stations: Volkstheater (on the U2 and U3 lines) and MuseumsQuartier (U2 line).
Address: Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna