The Return of the Young Hunter c. 1775
jeanbaptistegreuze
minneapolisinstituteofart
drawing
drawing
toned paper
pencil sketch
charcoal drawing
possibly oil pastel
charcoal art
oil painting
coffee painting
underpainting
france
watercolour illustration
watercolor
"The Return of the Young Hunter" is a drawing on paper by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, a French artist known for his genre paintings depicting everyday life. Created around 1775, the work showcases a family reunion scene with a young man, likely a hunter, returning home to his family. The delicate brushstrokes and warm brown tones evoke a sense of intimacy and domesticity, characteristic of Greuze's style. This drawing, now part of the Minneapolis Institute of Art's collection, offers a glimpse into the emotional and social dynamics of 18th-century French society.
Comments
Modern viewers find Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s theatrical stagings melodramatic and contrived—akin to soap operas. But in his lifetime, Greuze was widely admired for elevating family drama to high art. The implicit subject here is the joy of parenthood. This emotional scene unfolds in a fashionable Louis XVI interior. A boy who has been out hunting is lovingly embraced by his mother, while his younger sister good-naturedly grasps his arm. The father, a dashing fellow, talks with a servant who accompanied the boy. His graceful ease and stylish dishabille, like the grand setting he inhabits, show that he is a titled man of means. The wide-eyed, round-cheeked little girl is a classic Greuze type, found in countless works by the artist and undoubtedly inspired by his own daughters, who were born in the early 1760s.
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