'The Desperate', the self-portrait of Gustave Courbet, is exhibited at the Orsay Museum, having been loaned by Qatar Museums after almost two decades of absence from France.

The Orsay Museum in Paris has begun to exhibit, starting Tuesday, 'Le Désespéré', a famous self-portrait by Gustave Courbet, which has not been shown to the French public for nearly twenty years. This masterpiece from 1844-1845, which finally depicts Courbet with a hallucinatory expression, has been loaned by Qatar Museums for a period of at least five years. The painting, small in size (45×54 cm), has been rarely exhibited, the last time being in 2007-2008, at a retrospective dedicated to the artist.

The chief curator of the Orsay Museum, Paul Perrin, described 'Le Désespéré' as unique in Courbet's production of self-portraits, due to the emotional intensity it conveys. The painting has been owned by private collectors and has not been part of French public collections. Acquired by Qatar Museums, the work will be exhibited in the future Art Mill Museum in Doha. The director of the Orsay Museum, Sylvain Amic, was the main architect of the loan but passed away before he could see its realization. The museum now honors his memory by showcasing this important work.