Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi1877 · Study 1964.420

Context from the museum

Courbet was still working on this large landscape, intended for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1879, when he died in December 1877. He painted it during his exile in Switzerland, where he had fled after being condemned for subversive activities in the Paris Commune of 1871. The view looks south over Lake Geneva toward the mountains called Les Dents du Midi. While some areas are heavily worked with a palette knife, the lower right remains unfinished.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

This late, unfinished painting reveals some of Courbet's techniques. At the top of the mountains you can see how different brushstrokes and thickly applied paint were used to differentiate the texture of the clouds from the snow.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi is 210.2 cm wide and 151.2 cm high, equivalent to approximately 82.8 × 59.5 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.39:1. The rectangular bounding area is 3.18 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 70.1% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 44.9 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on fabric, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 210.2 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?