Jean-Baptiste GREUZE (Tournus 1725-Paris 1805) - Lot 25

Jean-Baptiste GREUZE (Tournus 1725-Paris 1805) The Consolation of Old Age Pen and black ink over black pencil lines, highlights in pen and brown ink, Indian ink wash H. 37 cm - L. 53.3 cm DB Insolate, lined, stains, folds Provenance : Sale Caroline Greuze, Paris, 1843, n°19, 106 francs to M. de la Salle Bibliography : Camille Mauclair and catalog raisonné by J. Martin and C. Masson, Jean-Baptiste GREUZE, Paris, 1906, n°254, p.19 Exhibition : Salon de 1769, n°165, drawn by Saint-Aubin in his booklet (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10315542z/f64.item ) This magnificent unpublished drawing was exhibited at the Salon of 1769 along with five others on the theme of paternity, two of which are still known to historians (La mort d'un père de famille regretté par ses enfants, preserved in the Louvre, and La mort d'un père dénaturé abandonné par ses enfants, preserved in the Musée de Tournus, see the catalog of the exhibition Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Dijon, 1977, n°51-52). Although Diderot wrote that Greuze "showed himself to be a man of genius" in his drawings, the Salon's critics were repulsed by the morbid aspect of the last drawing cited. Remarkably, the reappearance of this drawing rebalances Greuze's intention, showing at the same time all the tenderness he felt towards old people whose only joy is to see life pulsating in childlike agitation. Here, the adults help the venerable ancestor leaning on his crutches to come and admire the childish roundelay, no doubt performed in his honor - why not, for example, in honor of his birthday. The diversity of themes exhibited at the Salon of 1769 (the other leaves showed L'avare et ses enfants, La bénédiction paternelle, Le départ de Barcelonette) indicates all the subtle variations Greuze introduced into his study of the relationship between fatherhood and death. We would like to thank Ms. Yuriko Jackall for her help in writing this notice. We would like to thank Mr. Antoine Chatelain for kindly confirming the authenticity of this drawing from a photograph and for the information provided.