スイスに近いフランス東部の町オルナンに生まれました。神話や英雄ではなく、ふつうの人々の葬式や、道路で石を割る労働者など、目の前の現実をありのままに大きな画面に描き、「写実主義（レアリスム）」の旗手になりました。自信たっぷりで反骨精神が強く、政治にもかかわりました。晩年はスイスに亡命し、そこで亡くなりました。
Courbet was born in Ornans, a town in eastern France near Switzerland. Instead of myths and heroes, he painted real life on huge canvases: a village funeral, workers breaking stones on a road. He became the leader of Realism. He was very confident, loved to rebel, and was active in politics. He spent his last years in exile in Switzerland, where he died.
