L'Apôtre Jean Journet partant pour la conquête de l'harmonie universelle

This rare lithograph depicts Jean Journet (1799-1861), a 19th-century secular evangelist who traveled throughout France and Belgium preaching on behalf of the Fourier movement, a form of utopian socialism that aspired to the creation of social harmony. This portrait of Journet is surrounded by verses intended to be sung by the reader as a moralizing call to change. Courbet’s use of the song sheet format, combining text with image is more commonly found in crude, popular woodcuts, and signals his solidarity with the movement and its popular roots. (See: Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu/artworks/36828/the-apostle-jean-journet)