Rémi Soulié on Péguy's Combat: Sex, Soil, and the Body
In a 2008 article for artpress, Rémi Soulié examines Charles Péguy's use of Gustave Courbet's quote from Dialogue de l'histoire et de l'âme païenne: "Ah, you go to the Orients, he said. YOU HAVE NO COUNTRY." Soulié argues that Courbet, who toppled the Vendôme Column, criticized ethereal painters for fleeing the flesh. For Soulié, flesh encompasses not only sex but also soil: Courbet's L'Origine du monde cannot be separated from Un enterrement à Ornans. Birth links sex and soil, giving us a native land and a mother tongue.
Key facts
- Rémi Soulié wrote about Charles Péguy and Gustave Courbet.
- The article was published in artpress in 2008.
- Courbet's quote is from Péguy's Dialogue de l'histoire et de l'âme païenne.
- Courbet toppled the Vendôme Column.
- Soulié interprets flesh as both sex and soil.
- L'Origine du monde and Un enterrement à Ornans are linked.
- Birth connects sex and soil.
- The article is titled 'Rémi Soulié, Péguy de combat'.
Entities
Artists
- Rémi Soulié
- Charles Péguy
- Gustave Courbet
Institutions
- artpress
Locations
- Ornans
- France
Sources
- artpress —