Gustave Courbet, born in Franche-Comté to a family of landowners, was introduced to painting at the age of fourteen by Père Claude-Antoine Beau. After studying under Charles-Antoine Flajoulot in Besançon, he moved to Paris in 1839, initially to pursue law, an endeavour which he soon abandoned in favour of an artistic training under Charles de Steuben and Nicolas-Auguste Hesse. However, he largely developed his skills by painting and sketching independently.
In the early 1840s, he began painting portraits and landscapes, though his early submissions to the Salon were repeatedly rejected. His first breakthrough came in 1844 with Self-portrait with a Black Dog. Despite further setbacks, Courbet became part of a vibrant artistic and literary circle, which included Charles Baudelaire and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. In 1847, Courbet travelled to the Netherlands, where he immersed himself in the works of Dutch masters, such as Rembrandt and Frans Hals. This experience deeply influenced his technique, particularly in his approach to large-scale compositions and everyday scenes.
Painted in 1847 and exhibited at the 1848 Salon, Young Girl Sleeping is one of Courbet’s early explorations of the theme of women asleep - a subject he returned to throughout his career. Unlike his more provocative later works, such as The Dream, Venus and Psyche (1864), and The Sleepers (1866), Young Girl Sleeping captures the innocence and beauty that characterise the artist’s early œuvre. The model rests dreamily, her pose possibly inspired by an earlier sketch of Courbet’s sister, Juliette. While emphasising her purity, Courbet skilfully hints at the girl’s emerging sensuality through the soft drapery that subtly outlines her body.
The painting exudes exquisite sensitivity, ultimately heralding Courbet’s success as a leading and innovative figure in the Realist movement.