On a sunlit road outside Montpellier, Courbet, with his painting gear strapped to his back, is greeted by his patron Alfred Bruyas, hat in hand, and Bruyas's servant Calas, who lowers his eyes. The composition borrows from popular prints of the Wandering Jew. Courbet casts the artist as a free traveller who meets the man who pays him on equal terms.
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Courbet gave himself the brightest light and a jutting, upturned beard. The coach that supposedly brought him is a small shape on the road behind.
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