Head of a Girl with Fixed Eyes n.d.

Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s chalk drawing captures a young girl, her gaze intensely fixed. The averted eyes, so common in classical depictions of saints and madonnas, here suggest a more secular meditation. Consider how in earlier religious art, upward gazes signified divine connection, a reaching beyond the earthly realm. Yet, Greuze adapts this visual language to explore inner psychological states. This shift reflects a broader movement in his era toward the humanization of emotion, mirroring the sentimental novels that laid bare the emotional lives of their characters. Notice the way the girl’s slightly downturned mouth hints at melancholy. It recalls similar expressions in countless portraits throughout history—from ancient Roman busts to Renaissance paintings. The pose is not simply a replication, but a continuation, and each artist reinvents these symbols, reshaping them to fit their cultural context. The emotional weight these images carry allows them to engage with viewers on a subconscious level. And so, the girl's fixed gaze is not merely a stylistic choice, but a link in the unbroken chain of human expression.