This article explores a link between modern painting in the realistic tradition and socioeconomic change. It focuses on Gustave Courbet's famous painting The Origin of the World (L'Origine du Monde) which has recently been rediscovered after having long been thought either missing or destroyed. The realistic painting is discussed in terms of both its artistic and its socioeconomic impact. The article first discusses the painting in the context of the life and work of its author. It then turns to the extended social policy implications of the work and finally to Courbet's extraordinary propaganda stunt of hiding the message for greater effectiveness.