The Notary: A Study for "The Marriage Contract" by Jean-Baptiste Greuze

The Notary: A Study for "The Marriage Contract" 1761

drawing, print, paper, inorganic-material, chalk, black-chalk

drawing

toned paper

print

pencil sketch

charcoal drawing

paper

charcoal art

portrait reference

pencil drawing

inorganic-material

underpainting

chalk

france

water

mythology

portrait drawing

portrait art

black-chalk

watercolor

christ

"The Notary: A Study for 'The Marriage Contract'" is a black and white charcoal drawing by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, created in 1761. This study depicts a seated man in a three-quarter view, wearing a coat and a cap, holding a piece of paper. This is likely a study for the figure of the notary in Greuze's painting "The Marriage Contract" (1771) which is now in the Musée du Louvre. Greuze's drawings are highly valued for their expressive lines and the way they capture the artist's quick observation of the human form. This study, now housed in the Art Institute of Chicago, demonstrates the artist's meticulous attention to detail, particularly in the folds of the clothing and the pose of the figure.