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Courbet’s ‘The Desperate Man’ Returns to View at Musée d’Orsay After 17 Years

Qatar Museums loans the self-portrait for five years before establishing it at Doha’s future Art Mill Museum.

Overview

  • The Musée d'Orsay begins exhibiting the 1844–45 self-portrait on October 14 under a five-year loan arrangement.
  • Qatar Museums is the owner and says the painting is destined for the Art Mill Museum in Doha with regular travel between Doha and Paris.
  • The work was last shown in France during the 2007–2008 Courbet retrospective and appeared in Frankfurt in 2010.
  • The loan agreement was signed in April 2025, a deal championed by Orsay director Sylvain Amic, who died in late August before the unveiling.
  • The compact oil on canvas (45×54 cm) is considered a uniquely intense Courbet self-portrait, according to chief curator Paul Perrin.