Valley of the Loue 1836

"Valley of the Loue" is an oil painting by Gustave Courbet, created in 1836. This landscape depicts a view of the Loue River Valley in eastern France, where Courbet spent much of his youth. The painting's subdued palette and soft brushstrokes create a sense of tranquility and evoke the beauty of the natural world, a hallmark of Courbet's early work. This intimate, small-scale work is a prelude to his later, more monumental realist paintings.