(Above) Chateau de Chillon, Courbet, 1875
(To Left) Photograph of Chateau de Chillon (for comparison), Veytaux, Switzerland

This photograph to the left compared to the painting above show how meticulously Courbet depicted the Chateau de Chillon in Switzerland.  Notice the accurate use of light and dark, especially on the chateau and the woods behind.  Also, the boat and the layers of  mountains serve to show the vast scale of this area.  Other realist landscapes, especially by Courbet are as true to life as modern photographs.  Courbet attempted to learn in a Parisian art school in 1839, but preferred to develop his own style.  Courbet felt that the lower classes should be represented in artwork and he address many social and political issues of the time.