From medieval psalters to the oils of Gustave Courbet, the Louvre has organized one of the most comprehensive surveys of a cultural motif that is both beguiling and timely.

Through this maelstrom, Smee, a Pulitzer-winning art critic, traces the stories of several engaging personalities: Gustave Courbet, the scandalous realist painter naively committed to revolution ...

The background of Self-portrait with Black Dog (Gustave Courbet, early 1840s) is painted with the brightest tones and largely in the most detail. The artist and dog are mostly shown using darker ...

The background of Self-portrait with Black Dog (Gustave Courbet, early 1840s) is painted with the brightest tones and largely in the most detail. The artist and dog are mostly shown using darker ...