The Origin of the World

Gustave Courbet, L'Origine du monde (1866), Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Shall quips and sentences and these paper bullets of the brain awe a man from the career of his humor? No, the world must be peopled.

—Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, act 2, scene 3

Fall officially arrives later this afternoon.

Hurricane Gabrielle is 600 miles east of Bermuda.

The Louvre on fire, Venus de Milo sheltering at a police station,

Gustave Courbet is pulling down Napoleon's Vendôme Column.

They sent him a bill for it in Switzerland later; he stiffed the nation.

Painting The Origin of the World was just a commission. A job to do.

I know this isn’t Paris, 1871. That's news to you?

Time's careening to infinity. It’ll be midnight soon.

Cover image: Gustave Courbet, self-portrait, Le Désespéré (1843). Private collection.

Monday, September 22, 2025