This photograph taken on October 13, 2025 shows French painter Gustave Courbet's oil-on-canvas "Self Portrait", also known as "Desperation" and "The Desperate Man" (1843-1845) exhibited on loan at the Musee d'Orsay, in Paris. (Photo by Ian LANGSDON / AFP)
Paris: Qatar has revealed itself as the owner of a famous self-portrait by French realist master Gustave Courbet and will loan the painting to Paris's Musee d'Orsay for five years, museum officials said on Monday.
"The Desperate Man" depicts Courbet with a wild-eyed stare looking out of the canvas in a work that is one of his best known alongside "The Stone Breakers" and "The Origin of the World".
It was exhibited in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2010 in a show devoted to the painter and was last seen in France in a major retrospective in 2007-2008, which also travelled to New York.
Attendees look at French painter Gustave Courbet's oil-on-canvas "Self Portrait", also known as "Desperation" and "The Desperate Man" (1843-1845) exhibited on loan at the Musee d'Orsay, in Paris, on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Ian LANGSDON / AFP)
At this time, the painting was loaned by an unknown private collector with help from French bank BNP Paribas, but has since been acquired by Qatar Museums, a state body responsible for developing the art scene in the country.
The Musee d'Orsay, which owns around 30 Courbet paintings, will exhibit "The Desperate Man" ("Le Désespéré") from Tuesday for five years before it transfers to its long-term home in Doha, the museum told AFP.
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Qatar Museums HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani said the painting was destined for the Art Mill Museum and "will travel regularly between Doha and Paris in the future".
"Pleased to attend the tribute honoring the late Sylvain Amic at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, a visionary and a true cultural leader," Her Excellency said in a post on Instagram.
"In his memory, we unveiled Gustave Courbet’s Le Désespéré, a painting that will be on long-term loan from the future Art Mill Museum Collection to the Musée d’Orsay until our museum opens."
The Art Mill Museum in Doha is part of the country's plan to become a Middle Eastern art hub, with the vast complex designed by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena scheduled to open in 2030.
