Portrait of Zélie Courbet

Gustave Courbet completed this portrait of his sister Zélie around 1847. In his letters, the painter described her as "always ill, always brave, always lovable." Based on her features, she appears about twenty years old. Courbet's sisters Zoé, Zélie, and Juliette were his first models for drawing and painting.

The technical handling demonstrates Courbet's developing Realist approach. The luminous brushwork on the face and hand, dense layers of whites and grays in the collar, and the dark background create psychological intensity comparable to Rembrandt's portraits of Saskia. The painting measures 56 x 46 cm and is at the Museo de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) in Brazil. Another version exists at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy.