Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), a painter of reality, the earth, and of material things, caught up in his period to the point of melding with it. He paid a high price, he who was rich, adored, and famous, would be forced to mass produce paintings to avoid ruin. To make a film about Courbet is to rediscover this progression that led the artist to focus his paintings on reality. One must capture his painting and look for his colors in matter and concrete things.