Les Gorges de Saillon
by COURBET, Gustave, Oil on canvas, 42 x 33 cm
Although, with its unique rock formation, the landscape appears fantastical, Courbet did in fact depict the scene from life, with recent research pinpointing the exact location as the Grotte des G�ants, or ‘Cave of Giants’ in Saillon, Valais, south-west Switzerland. The fantastical rock formation was not a result of Courbet’s imagination, but a genuine natural feature.