Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/431

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COUKBEVOIE COURLAN 427 pictures which had an unexpected success. He undertook to accomplish in painting a movement similar to that which in literature had subordinated the ideal to the real, and pursued realistic art with a degree of exclusive- ness which aroused much hostile criticism. In 1855, dissatisfied with the places assigned to his pictures in the universal exposition, he ex- hibited them in a separate building. In the exhibition at Munich in 1860 he was better ap- preciated, the jury having assigned a whole room to him. Thenceforth he held a peculiar position in art, standing midway between clas- sicism and conventionalism on the one hand, and romanticism on the other. He took an active part in the movements of the Paris commune in 1871, directed the demolition of the column in the place Vend6me, and was prominent in the most impracticable schemes of the insurgents. When Paris fell he was caught in an attempt to escape and put on trial for treason, murder, and other crimes, but was only sentenced to six months' imprison- ment. His pictures sent to the exposition of 1872 were rejected by the jury, on the ground that his conduct during the insurrection had been such as to render him unworthy to as- sociate with men of honor. In 1873 he was prosecuted by the government for damages in the destruction of the column Vendome, and his effects were seized and sold. Courbet's pic- tures comprise portraits, landscapes, and genre pieces, and he is specially noted for studies of the nude female form, such as his "Woman with a Parrot." COUKBEVOIE, a village of France, in the de- partment of the Seine, opposite Neuilly, on the railway from Paris to Versailles; pop. in 1866, 9,862. It is built amphitheatrically, has several manufactories and bleaching grounds, and large barracks built by Louis XV. En- gagements took place here, April 2-7, 1871, between the troops and the communists. COURCELLES, a village of Alsace-Lorraine, formerly belonging to France, 4 m. S. E. of Metz. A battle was fought here, Aug. 14, 1870, between the Germans under Steinmetz and the French under Bazaine. Each side lost heavily, the Germans remaining masters of the field. (See METZ.) COURCELLES, Daniel de Remi, seigneur de, a French governor of Canada, 1666-'72. He led an expedition on snow shoes against the Mo- hawks in 1666, and aided Tracy in their reduc- tion. As governor he maintained the ascen- dancy thus acquired over the Iroquois, and ex- tended the colony, by projecting the fort at Catarocoay (Kingston), built by Frontenac. COURCELLES, Thomas de, a French theologian, born in 1400, died in Paris, Oct. 23, 1469. He was educated at the university of Paris, of which institution he became one of the bright- est ornaments. In 1430 he was chosen rector of the university, and in 1431 was made canon of Amiens, Laon, and Therouanne. He took a prominent part in the trial and condemnation of Joan of Arc, but was not present at her ex- ecution. In the process of her rehabilitation in 1456 he made no excuse for his conduct in this affair. He appeared as a theologian at the council of Basel, and was orator of the univer- sity at the council of Mentz, where he defended the liberties of the Gallican church. Charles VII. employed him successfully in several im- portant negotiations, and he pronounced the funeral oration of that king at St. Denis in 1461. COURIER DE MERE, Paul Louis, a French scholar and publicist, born in Paris about 1773, murdered near Veretz (Indre-et-Loire), April 10, 1825. He served in the army of Italy, and denounced in his private correspon- dence the spoliation of works of art by the French soldiery. Returning to France in 1800, he attracted the attention of Hellenists by the publication of his remarks upon Schweig- hauser's edition of AthenaBus. In 1806 he was again with the army, stationed in dangerous and isolated parts of Calabria, and afterward at Naples and Portici, where he occupied his leisure hours in translating Xenophon's treatise on cavalry. Censured for lingering in Rome and Florence instead of attending to his duties, he threw up his commission, but rejoined the army just before the battle of Wagram, after which, however, he left it entirely. While in Florence he had discovered in the Laurentian library an unedited manuscript of Longus, "Daphnis and Chloe," which he published in Greek and French in 1810. Having in copying the manuscript accidentally blotted it with ink, he was accused of doing so purposely, and ulti- mately expelled from Tuscany, while the 27 remaining copies of the 52 he had printed were seized by the Tuscan government. After the restoration he denounced the follies of the new administration in numerous pamphlets, which involved him in troubles with the government, and he was arrested several times. His most effective pamphlet, Pamphlet des pamphlets, appeared in 1824. In the spring of the follow- ing year he was found shot near his country seat. Five years later it was ascertained that he had been murdered by his gamekeeper, who had since died of apoplexy, but no clue was discovered to the motive which prompted him to the deed. Courier's pamphlets are master- pieces of style. They have been published collectively, together with his translations from the Greek and other works, and his life by Armand Carrel (4 vols., Paris, 1834; 1 vol., 1837; 2 vols., 1838). The best edition of his translation of Longus is that of 1825, COIRLAN, a large wading bird, of the genus aramus (Vieill.), the only one of its family, which most authors place among the rails (ral- lidcB). The North American courlan, or crying bird (A. giganteus, Baird), is 27 inches long; bill 5|, much compressed, curved at the tip ; head fully feathered ; tarsus 5 inches, and tibia half bare; wings broad and rounded, 13 inches long; toes cleft to the base; hind toe long; general color chocolate brown, each feather,