Woman with a parrot: "They'll have [the picture] exactly the way they like [it]!"

The disparity between this painting and Courbet's other more typical Realist works is perplexing. Here he contradicts all of his previously held principals. Rather than paint what is real and visible before him, he is altering the reality of his image to please the male public who wanted to consume such imagery. It is a work designed to facilitate sexual fantasy. It was created with and designed for the oppressive and exploitative male gaze.

Why would Courbet compromise his beliefs in this way? Well, in addition to his political and artistic zealotry, Courbet also had a big ego. He was obsessed with the idea of his fame and legacy. He knew that in the history of painting, the nude was often the form at which a painter could prove themself a master. So he created this and many other commissioned works as an attempt to keep his audience engaged. Ironically enough, it is these works which taint his legacy rather than ensure it.

The only facet of Woman With A Parrot that connects to his realist beliefs is that this is a painting of a real naked woman rather than a fantastical nude of a mythological figure. Her robes in the bottom right-hand corner suggest an undressing which places her in our world of reality. This doesn't mean that Courbet was painting this as an attempt to undercut the history of nude paintings. Édouard Manet was doing that with his painting Olympia. This was a work of sexual objectification, just as mythological nudes are.

Why would Manet compromise his beliefs in this way? Well, in addition to his political and artistic zealotry, Manet also had a big ego. He was obsessed with the idea of his fame and legacy. He knew that in the history of painting, the nude was often the medium at which a painter could prove themself a master. So he created this and many other commissioned works as an attempt to keep his audience engaged. Ironically enough, it is these works which taint his legacy rather than ensure it.