Why Does Courbet Commit a Breach of Etiquette by Including Women in the Procession of His Burial at Ornans?
- Art d'Histoire
- May 28
- 3 min read
A Brief History of Tears
In the heart of the nineteenth century, the painter Courbet upended academic codes with his major work, A Burial at Ornans.
Too large for anonymous provincials who, moreover, lacked education and dignity... for the very composition of the funeral procession offended an educated Parisian public.
A New Economy of Tears
Research by Hélène Montrachet reminds us that during Greek Antiquity, weeping was a marker of virility: Achilles, a muscular hero and paragon of bravery, sobs again and again without restraint or shame.
Time passes, customs change. And while the eighteenth century maintained a tolerance toward tears, the French Revolution put an end to it. A new virility, based on a martial conception of man, was established.
This new norm required one to break free from emotional effusions, Alain Corbin notes: tears are for women and the private sphere.
No Mourners in Funeral Processions
Nineteenth-century etiquette manuals document funeral rites in their smallest details, from the death announcement to the funeral meal, from the calendar of mourning clothes to black jewellery—including the essential guide by Elizabeth Celnart, published in 1839 and reissued in 1852. There, one reads that women are not permitted to follow the coffin to the cemetery.
This conservative vision persisted and strengthened over the decades. In 1899, the manual by the Baroness of Staffe even recommended that women follow the service from a side chapel in order to best conceal their affliction.
Of note is the appearance of a feminist discourse, such as that of Jeanne d'Antilly, who revolted against this exclusion.
Courbet Double-Flouts the Rules
The painting measures 3.13 meters by 6.64. By its size, it asserts itself as history painting—the noblest academic genre reserved for great heroic or mythological deeds. Yet, what does he paint on his large canvas? A provincial petty bourgeoisie that does not know how to behave.
There appears a group of women weeping openly, three holding a handkerchief to their faces—pale linen that is all the more visible as it stands out against a black background.
Worse still, he places at the intersection of the painting's diagonals a man with his head buried in his handkerchief, and another barely visible to his right.
These people, painted on a grand scale, do not know how to conduct themselves.
Not only does Courbet violate the rules of the hierarchy of genres, but he adds to it a total disregard for the rules of propriety. The ostentatious presence of women, and even of two men, crowns academic impropriety with social impropriety.
This blog relies on the primary source anthology sheets provided by Art d’Histoire Académie:
Plus all those inserted as links in the blog above
You can also view our traditional, free-access videos:
The Art d’Histoire Académie platform specialises in primary sources and digitised archives covering the artistic period from 1850 to 1910.
It offers clear, structured interactive videos accompanied by a library of over a thousand anthology sheets, comprising 10,000 explained and contextualised primary sources that can be viewed in their original format.
Whether you are preparing for an exam, a lecture, a guided tour, a conference, an exhibition, or a publication, Art d’Histoire Académie is here to support you. The labyrinth of archives simply becomes what it ought to be for any passionate researcher: a source of inspiration and a space for fulfilment.
