The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet)

Gustave Courbet

1854 · Oil on canvas · Musée Fabre, Montpellier

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet)

Christ in the Desert

Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Gustave Courbet (1819–1877)
Year: 1854
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 132.4 × 151 cm
Collection: Musée Fabre, Montpellier
Movement: Realism

On a road near Montpellier the painter, with his staff, knapsack and paintbox on his back, is greeted by his patron Alfred Bruyas, who raises his hat, and Bruyas's servant Calas, who bows, while a dog looks on and the painter's carriage waits behind. Courbet painted the scene in 1854 during a stay with Bruyas, a wealthy collector who had bought several of his pictures, and it records, with a certain swagger, the artist meeting his patron as an equal: Courbet stands tallest and holds his head highest. Exhibited at the 1855 Exposition Universelle it was mocked as Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet, the title that stuck, and as Fortune greeting Genius. Bruyas left his collection to his native city in 1868 and the picture is in the Musée Fabre in Montpellier.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Three men greeting each other on a sunlit road beneath a blue sky, in green, ochre and white, for a hallway, study or living room at 16×24 in natural wood. Pale blue, cream or sage walls suit the open air; pair it with The Stone Breakers.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Realism painting
Era: 19th century (1854)
Orientation: Portrait
Mood: classic
Rooms: living room, hallway or entryway, study or library, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet) in the public domain?

Yes. Gustave Courbet (1819–1877) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Musée Fabre.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18 and 16×24 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet) painted, and in what medium?

The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet) dates from 1854 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 132.4 × 151 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 16×24 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 12×18 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet) we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet) (Gustave Courbet) — The Meeting (Bonjour Monsieur Courbet) · Gustave Courbet · 1854. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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