Jean-Baptiste Greuze
1725-1805
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Jean-Baptiste Greuze was a French painter, born in Tournus
(Saône-et-Loire). He studied art in Lyon and in Paris, where he became a leading genre painter.
The moralistic subject of the first painting he exhibited, The Father Reading the Bible to His Children (1755, Louvre, Paris), was in marked contrast to the playful, decorative subjects of the then-dominant rococo style. The work was approved by the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which Greuze joined as an associate in 1769.
- The artist in front of Hôtel Dieu - Greuze Museum. Illustration to
a a First Day Sheet, engraved by the French engraver Pierre Albuisson,
in connection with the issuance of the French stamp September 2005.
The engraving is a personal present to the webmaster from the
engraver.
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In 1755 he went to Italy, visiting first Naples then Rome.
Little interested in antique art or the Italian ruins, he continued his genre
painting. Greuze is today considered more important for his honest, unpretentious portraits, both of political figures, such as Robespierre and Napoleon, and of children.
The below stamps, all depicting children paintings by Greuze, are semi-postals
issued for the benefit of French Red Cross. The exact year(s) of creation is
unknown, but all are assumed to have been painted in the period 1755-1765. The
two 1971-stamps were also issued by Réunion.
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France 1954. Girl with Dove. Louvre Museum. Note that there
exists a maximum card of this stamp.
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France 1971. Young Girl with a Dog. Cognacq-Jay Museum
(France).
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France 1971. Girl with Dead Bird. Louvre Museum.
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Greuze's forceful, free chalk drawings are also much admired.
He was a loyal observer of local dresses, movement and expression, and he
created for each of his paintings a dramatic expression, nourished by the
forced attitude of the model's natural tension and expression in the given
situation.
A splendid example of these chalk drawings is seen on this excellent
portrait of a young girl holding her hand behind her ear, as if she is
listening to something she does not hear very well.
These characteristics are well expressed in this drawing, used to
illustrate the Philatelic Document issued by the French Post Office in
connection with the issuance of the French stamp September 2005.
The engraving is signed by Pierre Albuisson, and is a personal present
from him to the webmaster. Click here to see
the full philatelic document issued by the French Post Office. The
link will open in a new window. |
On 24th September 2005 France has issued this painting by Greuze "Le
Guitariste" ["The Guitar Player"]. The stamp is shown below left,
with the First Day Cancel 24-09-2995 in Tournus, the artist's birth place. On
the right is shown a similar Polish stamp issued in 1967. What a difference
between two printing techniques with 38 years interval!
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France 2005. Jean-Baptiste Greuze: "The Guitar
Player", c. 1755-1760. Museum of Fine Arts, Nantes (France).
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France 2005. Idem, blueprint. Scanned from the Philatelic
Document following the stamp issue, considerably enlarged.
He went on to paint a great number of artificial, moralistic genre works, including The Village Bride (1761, Louvre) and The Wool Winder (1759, Frick Collection, New York City).
Below are three traditional paintings by Greuze, depicting honest and
unpretentious portraits of children and everyday characters.
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Fujeira 1970. Blond Child. Nothing is known about year of
creation or ownership.
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USSR 1974. The Pampered Child. Painted 1765, and belongs to
the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
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Poland 1967. The Guitar Player. The stamp is postally used.
The painting has previously belonged to the Polish National Museum in
Warsaw, but has later been transferred to the Museum of Fine Arts in Nantes.
What a difference in the printing technique, compared to the recent French
issue in 2005, 38 years later!
In 1769, Greuze wanted to join the Royal Academy of Painting and
Sculpture, as a painter of historical paintings, and presents his sumptuous
painting "Imperial Reproaching of Caracalla for wanting to assassinate his
father, the Emperor", but which was rejected by the institutional members.
Nonetheless the painter is accepted at the Academy, but as a genre painter.
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Driven by his proper artistic love, from this moment on Greuze refuses to exhibit
at the Salon, and consequently opens his atelier to the public.
Being an
excellent portraitist he receives plenty of commissions, and he knows well how
to expose his great pictorial experience combined with the human authenticity of
his models. His paintings left a remarkable witness of the bourgeois society of
the 18th century.
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State of Oman 1972. Mademoiselle Sophie Arnauld, c.
1786.
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State of Oman 1972. The Broken Mirror, c. 1763.
Both paintings belong to the Wallace Collection, Great
Britain. |
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But little by little, the public taste develops and changes,
particularly influenced by the return of a certain classicism, and Greuze slowly
sees himself pushed into the dark and dies in misery, completely forgotten by
the public that had supported him from the very beginning of his career.
The engraving on the left is done by the French engraver
Pierre Albuisson as an illustration to the official invitations for the
First Day Celebrations of the issuance of the French Greuze-stamp 2005.
The illustration shows the Greuze-statue in his hometown Tournus.
Sources and links:
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Other Rococo Artists on this site:
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