A Drawing by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805)

It was the Getty Center that turned me on to the art of Jean-Baptiste Greuze when they had an exhibit in 2002 on “French Drawings in the Age of Greuze.” He may be been something of a moralizer, but his drawings and his paintings are wonderfully dynamic. The above drawing is from a special exhibit at the Getty entitled “Virtue and Vice: Allegory in European Drawing.”

The vice in this case is a son (standing, right) announcing to his family that he has joined the army. He is embraced by his mother while his father (seated, left) curses him for his decision. The full name of the brush and gray wash over graphite drawing is: “The Father’s Curse: The Ungrateful Son.” The museum description of the drawing is as follows:

A father reacts furiously to his son’s decision to leave his family and join the army. With outstretched arms, he releases an angry curse that thrusts the young man toward the door, where a recruiting officer watches with indifference. The family’s pleading gestures and dramatic facial expressions communicate their anguish. Based on the popular painting the artist exhibited in 1777, this highly finished sheet served as the model for a print.

Here is the painting by Greuze that preceded the drawing:

This painting was praised by no less a critic than Denis Diderot, the famous French Encyclopedist. I actually like the drawing that ensued more than the painting because it looks more like a domestic scene rather than a stage proscenium.

I wonder why Greuze found it necessary to do a drawing after he did an oil painting. If, as the Getty description noted, the drawing was turned into a print, I would be very interested in seeing the print or engraving based on it.