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A work made of black, red, and white chalk with stumping on brownish-gray laid paper, laid down on a ivory laid card.

Portrait of the Artist's Mother

1775

Jean-Baptiste Greuze French, 1725-1805

France

This remarkable study of dignified old age is a poignant, rare portrait of Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s mother, Claudine, made when she was approximately 75 years old. Recently discovered, it documents a tender reunion of mother and son. Greuze visited his family in Tournus in 1755 on his way to Italy with Abbot Gougenot. A related drawing in a private Parisian collection has been identified as Madame Greuze Embracing Her Son after 20 Years Absence; the date of that work suggests that the present sheet was also made in 1775.

Black, red, and white chalk with stumping on brownish-gray laid paper, laid down on a ivory laid card

Prints and Drawings