Portrait of the Artist's Mother

Description

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.

Portrait of the Artist's Mother

Jean Baptiste Greuze

1775

Accession Number

197866

Medium

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

Dimensions

37.7 × 29.3 cm (14 7/8 × 11 9/16 in.)

Classification

prints and drawing

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Celia and David Hilliard in honor of Suzanne Folds McCullagh