| The Stone Breakers | |
|---|---|
| French: Les Casseurs de pierres | |
 Les Casseurs de pierres | |
| Artist | Gustave Courbet |
| Year | 1849 |
| Medium | Oil-on-canvas |
| Movement | Realism (arts) |
| Subject | Work |
| Dimensions | 1.5 m × 2.6 m (4.9 ft × 8.5 ft) |
| Condition | Destroyed in bombing |
| Location | Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden (until 1945) |
| Followed by | Les Casseurs de pierres c. (1849) |
The Stone Breakers (French: Les Casseurs de pierres), also known as Stonebreakers, was an 1849 oil painting on canvas by the French painter Gustave Courbet. Now destroyed, the image remains an often-cited example of the artistic movement Realism.
The painting was exhibited at the 1850 Paris Salon where it was criticized by for its depiction of a subject that was not considered proper for high art. Some critics disliked Courbet's application of very thick paint and the poor lighting in the image. Conversely, social theorist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon praised the work and saw it as a successful socialist painting. He called the composition "a masterpiece in its genre". By 1915, it was considered to be an "important work".
Courbet produced two versions of the painting. The version displayed at the 1850 Paris Salon was in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden. At the time of its acquisition by the museum, the painting was referred to as "Courbet's monumental masterpiece". In February 1945, Dresden was bombed by the Allies of World War II. The Germans decided to relocate the painting but it was subsequently destroyed during a bombing raid while being relocated by truck to a safe storage. The second version, a reversed image, survived the war and is in the Oskar Reinhart Collection in Winterthur.