Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805) was a French genre and portrait painter. He is supposed to have quoted his father’s and grandfather’s profession as a roofer in his birth certificate provided at the certification of his wedding. He later referenced his father and grandfather’s vocations as architects when he applied to the academy. He is known as the one painter who initiated the mid-18th century vogue for sentimental and moralizing anecdotes in painting. Greuze studied at Lon and then at Royal Academy in Paris.

Anita Brookner’s “Jean-Baptiste Greuze – I.” Burlington Magazine 98 (May 1956), p. 158, fig. 34, illustrates Moitte’s engraving after Mieris’s L’Œuf cassé (fig. 35), by which Greuze was inspired, and comments on Dutch and Flemish influence.

The author, Anitha B, writes in the Burlington Magazine, “The pictures by Greuze shown at the Exhibition of Eighteenth-Century Masters at the Royal Academy, 1954-5, did nothing either to enhance or to diminish the reputation of this much-maligned artist.”

Broken Eggs, 1756, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French – Stretched Canvas

He is the master that gave the world such beautiful works of art as Les Oeufs Cassés – Broken eggs, The Laundress, The Marriage contract, and many more priceless pieces of art.

Painter’s Childhood

Jean-Baptiste Greuze, the sixth of a family of nine children, was born at Tournus, near Chalon-Sur-Sa6ne, on 21st August 1725. His father and grandfather were roofers. His godmother was listed as the wife of a baker. He was not expected to follow in his father’s footsteps as he was not one of the eldest children. There are varying accounts of whether he received encouragement at home for his chosen profession of an artist.

He became an apprentice under Charles Grandon, a portraitist, in Lyon. Later on, he moved to Paris. He studied at the academy where he was an outsider. He received encouragement from Charles Natoire, Jean Baptiste Pigalle, Louis de Silvestre.

Career

There were some doubts cast on whether he had indeed painted the pictures. After successive exhibitions, he began to be regarded as a serious artist. He tasted his first success at the Salon of 1755 with his moralizing genre painting of ‘ Father Reading the Bible to His Children‘ (1755). After his acquaintance with Denis Diderot, he received encouragement for his inclination toward the melodramatic genre. He reached the height of popular acclaim after his works such as The Village Betrothal (1761), The Father’s Curse (1765).

Resentful of Academy’s decision

In 1769, Greuze submitted his historical painting ‘Septimius Severus Reproaching Caracalla‘ to the Salon, hoping that the painting would gain him admission to the academy. But the Academy would admit him to membership only as a genre painter. Resentful of the Academy’s decision, he exhibited his works in his own studio for the next 30 years. But by the 1780s, his work had gone out of fashion, his talent was exhausted and the source of his income gradually waned.

He wanted to be considered as a history painter who treated classical mythology, religion, allegory, or subjects from history. During his travels to Italy, where he studied various artists, he aimed to raise his art to a new level. Some critics such as Barthelemy said, on the study of the Broken Eggs, “the future of the girl was so noble a pose that she could easily adorn a history painting”.

Septime Severe et Caracalla

He had impressed both critics and the general public. However, he was admitted into the academy as a ‘genre painter’ rather than a ‘history painter’. His presentation of Septimus Severus’ reproaching of his son Caracalla failed to meet his expectations and that of his peers.

He was on and off on the good books of the French academy as can be seen by the words of appreciation and derision by Deidrot. To put it in layman’s terms, they thought he was too full of himself.

La malediction paternelle

His penchant for dramatizing many of his paintings is a part of his everlasting style. In his painting, a father’s curse, we see a scene of exaggerated postures of agony and despair. the scene is set for a son’s departure from his family in order to join the army, much against the wishes of his father. The rest of the family appears to either calm the father or dissuade the son from leaving. Several female members of the family and even a child are seen trying to stop the ensuing departure from taking place. While the domestic scene is staged for the family, an outsider and a possible acquaintance of the son is standing near the door, visibly amused by the events.

The Return…

One of his later paintings, the Laundress, marked his return to his glory days of art. With this painting, his shows began to collect more viewers and intrigue. The Laundress was originally commissioned by the very wealthy Ange-Laurant de La Live de Jully and the artist was paid a handsome sum of 600 livres. It was later sold to Count Gustaf Adolph Sparre for four times this value at 2300 livres in May 1770. 

The Laundress brought Jean-Baptiste the success he longed for after many years. Many critics liked the way he handled the colors. The character itself was appraised by critics as “a young laundress, who, as she bends over to wash her linen, casts a glance that is as flirtatious as it is cheeky”. The painter was praised for achieving the most beautiful finish, but without dryness.

Celebration of work

Greuze’s composition of ‘ The Marriage Contract‘ was one of his famous paintings in which he superbly portrayed the ceremony being attended by members of a rural family while the signing of the marriage contract in the presence of a notary was taking place. In the painting Marriage Contract – L’Accordee de village, we see a well-to-do peasant family’s marriage where a dowry is given to the father of the bride by the bridegroom, and a marriage contract is signed. Many generations are represented with key characters taking the centre stage.

To the keen eye, it should be easy to see that the red and white striped skirt worn by the wife is similar to the one worn by the laundress. The painting brings forth two of the artists’ many characteristics. One, he celebrated the common man in his paintings. Even in menial labor, the common man and woman were shown to be elegantly dressed. Second, he was meticulous in bringing forth a story that appeared well known to anyone who looked at it.

The Hermit, Or The Distributor Of Rosaries

Diderot, his critic, also noted that the jealous sister in the painting is very similar in facial features to the laundress. It was considered by many that the painter often reused his models. Many of his works were largely lost for a long period of time, including the Laundress (french name). Like many of his works, this masterpiece was hidden away in private collections for many years.

A Studious Learner and a Good Teacher

Even his ardent critics noted that the painter is constantly learning from his surroundings and cared little for the costs of hiring the right models. He appears to value study before painting or drawing. He is said to have made multiple versions of his work before he finished it to a final version. A lot of preparatory drawings have been found among his many paintings. He tutored many painters in his time. Many of his students grew in acclaim over the years. Some of the notable names are Madame Le Doux and even his own daughter, Anna-Geneviève Greuze was one of his pupils. His attention to detail on naturality of form and expressions of his subjects’ marked his work. He is credited to be the founder of an offshoot of portraiture called the expressive head.

He Fought The Salon

His later years were less glamourous. He ran into debts and had to live in relative penury compared to his hay days as one of Europe’s most celebrated artists. Reproduction of his subjects was entrusted with Massard père, Flipart, Gaillard and Levasseur were notable engravers of their time. There was also a comédie-vaudeville, Greuze, ou l’accorde de village, written by his granddaughter, Madame de Valory in which she highlights the fight between the Salon and her grandfather.

Reference To Greuze By Sir Arthur Conon Doyle

Even much later, the procession of Grueze’s paintings was seen as a sign of wealth. A passing reference is also seen in one of the detective series Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle. During one of the meetings of Sherlock Holmes with Dr. Moriarty, he notes that the latter was in the procession of an artwork by Greuze which he could not afford with the meagre salary of a college professor.

Exploring Social Nuances

After the initial flash of inspiration to paint his major genre scenes in the scale and gravity of the subjects from ancient history, the kernel of an idea to explore the psychological and social nuances of family drama took shape in the painter’s mind. The initial attention to details such as compositions, figures, and heads in the picture was followed up by the artist by spending a lot of time and studies on details such as individual figures and heads in the portrait. He died on 4th of March, 1805 in Paris.