Your moment of zen, courtesy of our European Art Gallery. Under a dramatic sky, a trio of fishermen casts off onto Saint-Point, one of the largest lakes in France, located near the Swiss border. Thick strokes of paint laid on with a palette knife contribute to the feeling of an impending tempest. Gustave Courbet painted this scene while staying with friends near the lake in November 1872. A rule-breaker all his life, Courbet believed in representing the world as he saw it, without the idealization that centuries of academic art theory had advocated. He was the center of a loosely organized movement in nineteenth-century France called Realism, which emphasized the direct observation and representation of modern life. Gustave Courbet, French, 1819 - 1877, "The Lake, Near Saint-Point," 1872, Oil on canvas , 19 1/4 x 23 in. (48.9 x 58.4 cm) , Bequest of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., 2005.1.166 #thingstodoinsanantonio #SAMA #artmuseum #sanantonio #do210 #downtownsanantonio #painting #gustavecourbet