President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Gustave Courbet, the painter of scandal: the Vendôme Column, the case of The woman with the Parrot, and The origin of the world. The text below is an excerpt of the book Gustave Courbet, written by Georges Riat, published by Parkstone International. Child of materialism and positivism, Courbet was without a doubt one of the most complex painters of the nineteenth century. Symbolising the rejection of traditions, Courbet did not hesitate to confront the public with the truth by liberating painting of conventional rules. He became from then on the leader of pictorial realism. The Vendôme Column At the end of the deliberation of the…