file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #dbadj-;h4htm or #dbadj-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#dbadj_/pg#dbadj-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#db adj_/dbadj-;h4zip7 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see http3_/_/archive4org_/details_/greuzeoca d#jjmackuoft ,masterpieces in ,colour ,edited by--,t4 ,leman ,hare ,,greuze #agbe-ahje 99 99 99 99 99 99 8,,masterpieces ,,in ,,colour0 ,,series ,,artist4 ,,author4 ,,bellini4 ,,george ,,hay4 ,,botticelli4 ,,henry ,b4 ,,binns4 ,,boucher4 ,c4 ,,haldane ,,macfall4 ,,burne-,,jones4 ,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4 ,,carlo ,,dolci4 ,,george ,,hay4 ,,chardin4 ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 ,,constable4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,corot4 ,,sidney ,,allnutt4 ,,da ,,vinci4 ,m4 ,w4 ,,brockwell4 ,,delacroix4 ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 ,d,,rer4 ,h4 ,e4 ,a4 ,,furst4 ,,fra ,,angelico4 ,,james ,,mason4 ,,fra ,,filippo ,,lippi4 ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 ,,fragonard4 ,c4 ,,haldane ,,macfall4 ,,franz ,,hals4 ,,edgcumbe ,,staley4 ,,gainsborough4 ,,max ,,rothschild4 ,,greuze4 ,,alys ,,eyre ,,macklin4 ,,hogarth4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,holbein4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,holman ,,hunt4 ,,mary ,e4 ,,coleridge4 ,,ingres4 ,a4 ,j4 ,,finberg4 ,,lawrence4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,le ,,brun1 ,,vig,e4 ,c4 ,,haldane ,,macfall4 ,,leighton4 ,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4 ,,luini4 ,,james ,,mason4 ,,mantegna4 ,,mrs4 ,,arthur ,,bell4 ,,memlinc4 ,w4 ,h4 ,j4 ,j4 ,c4 ,,weale4 ,,millais4 ,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4 ,,millet4 ,,percy ,m4 ,,turner4 ,,murillo4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,perugino4 ,,selwyn ,,brinton4 ,,raeburn4 ,,james ,l4 ,,caw4 ,,raphael4 ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 ,,rembrandt4 ,,josef ,,israels4 ,,reynolds4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,romney4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,rossetti4 ,,lucien ,,pissarro4 ,,rubens4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,sargent4 ,t4 ,,martin ,,wood4 ,,tintoretto4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,titian4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,turner4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,van ,,dyck4 ,,percy ,m4 ,,turner4 ,,van ,,eyck4 ,j4 ,,cyril ,m4 ,,weale4 ,,velazquez4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,watteau4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,watts4 ,w4 ,,loftus ,,hare4 ,,whistler4 ,t4 ,,martin ,,wood4 ,others in ,preparation4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,i4--,l',,accord,e ,,du ,,village4 7,frontispiece7 ,this picture1 at first entitled 8,a ,father handing over the ,marriage-portion of his ,daughter10 then 8,the ,village ,bride10 is the best of ,greuze's subject pictures4 ,the scene is more or less naturally arranged1 and informed with the tender homely sentiment inspired by the subject2 and the bride1 with her fresh young face and modest attitude1 is a delicious figure4 ,it was exhibited in the ,salon of #agfa1 and now hangs in the ,louvre4 ,,greuze by ,,alys ,,eyre ,,macklin ,illustrated with ,eight ,reproductions in ,colour ,illustration3 ,,in ,,sempiternum4 ,london3 ,t4 ,c4 ,e4 ,c4 ,jack ,new ,york3 ,frederick ,a4 ,stokes ,co4 ,,contents ,chap4 ,page ,i4 ,early ,days and ,first ,success #aa ,,ii4 ,the ,times in which ,greuze ,lived #bj ,,iii4 ,greuze's ,moral ,pictures #bg ,,iv4 ,the ,pictures by which we know ,greuze #ce ,v4 ,the ,vanity of ,greuze #dd ,,vi4 8,the ,broken ,pitcher0 and other well-known ,pictures #eb ,,vii4 ,ruin and ,death #fb ,,viii4 ,the ,art of ,greuze #ga ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,plate ,i4 ,l',accorde du ,village ,frontispiece ,in the ,louvre ,page ,,ii4 ,l',innocence tenant deux ,pigeons #ad ,in the ,wallace ,collection ,,iii4 ,la ,maldiction paternelle #bd ,in the ,louvre ,,iv4 ,portrait d',homme #cd ,in the ,louvre ,v4 ,l',oiseau ,mort #dj ,in the ,louvre ,,vi4 ,les ,deux ,surs #ej ,in the ,louvre ,,vii4 ,la ,cruche ,casse #fj ,in the ,louvre ,,viii4 ,la ,laitire #gj ,in the ,louvre ,,chapter ,i ,,early ,,days ,,and ,,first ,,success ,few names suggest so much beauty as that of ,greuze4 8,greuze0--8a ,greuze0--you have only to hear the word and there rises before your mental vision a radiant procession of maidens each lovelier than the last1 with the blue of a spring sky in their shining eyes1 rosy blood flushing delicate cheeks1 soft silken hair escaping in gold-touched curls at temples where the blue veins show1 lips like dewy carnations1 rounded necks and curving bosoms that suggest all the sweets of ,june4 ,a veritable 8garden of girls0 in the first fresh bloom of budding womanhood2 and they come to you not so much as painted pictures as delicate visions breathed on canvas from which they might at any moment tremble into pulsing life4 ,yet the ,greuze to whom we owe this exquisite series was first known as the painter of pictures of a very different kind4 ,before speaking of these let us begin at the beginning1 by seeing when and under what conditions the child who was to become the poet-painter of a certain type of womanhood first saw the world he was destined to enrich4 ,born at ,tournus1 a little town near ,macon in ,france1 on ,august #ba1 #agbe1 the early life of ,jean ,baptiste ,greuze curiously resembles in its broad lines those of many other well-known artists4 ,his parents were humble people who lived in the tiny house at ,tournus1 now decorated with a commemorative plaque2 the father an overman slater2 and the godparents1 who play such an important part in the life of the ,french child1 respectively a slater and a baker4 ,the father seems to have been ambitious1 for he resolved to take his son into an evidently expanding business1 not as a workman1 but as architect4 ,at the usual early age1 however1 the child's vocation declared itself4 ,it was in vain the father1 alarmed by symptoms that threatened to disarrange his plans1 took materials from him and then whipped him for making pictures all over the walls--anywhere1 everywhere4 ,the boy cared for nothing but drawing of a kind that did not fall in with the cherished architectural idea1 and after many struggles he won the day by giving his father for a birthday present a pen-and-ink drawing of the head of ,st4 ,james1 well enough done to be at first mistaken for an engraving4 ,this had been copied at nights when he was supposed to be asleep1 and touched and convinced1 the father finally gave in and sent him off to ,lyons to learn the business in the studio of the painter ,grandon4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ii4--,l',,innocence ,,tenant ,,deux ,,pigeons 8,l',innocence tenant deux ,pigeons10 or 8,innocence holding two ,pigeons10 is a typical example of the eyes ,greuze never tired of painting1 large innocent orbs with a sparkle that suggests the morning sun on flowers wet with dew4 ,the moist half-open lips you also find in most of his girl-heads4 ,the lovely colour scheme is particularly happy even for ,greuze4 ,the original is in the ,wallace ,collection1 ,london4 ,the term 8learn the business0 is used advisedly4 ,grandon's studio was more a manufactory of pictures than anything else1 and was just as bad a school as a young artist could well have4 ,pictures were copied1 recopied1 and adapted1 turned out for all the world as ,jean ,baptiste's godmother turned the loaves out of her oven2 and while the boy learnt the use of colours1 and some drawing1 he also learnt that facility which is the deadly enemy of art1 artifice rather than invention1 to copy rather than to create--weaknesses which beset him ever afterwards4 ,it was natural that1 when manhood was arrived at1 ,greuze should yield to the inevitable law that draws exceptional talent to great centres4 ,when he was about twenty he left ,lyons1 and with very little capital but his abilities1 his blonde beauty1 and a large stock of self-satisfaction1 he set out gaily to make his fortune in ,paris4 ,the story of the first ten years there is also the conventional one of early artist days1 the old tale of stress and struggle1 of bitter disappointments alternating with brilliant hopes and small achievements4 ,young ,greuze was too personal and faulty in his work to please the ,academy1 not strong enough yet to convince any advanced movement there might be1 and he divided ten trying years between a little study at the ,academy and a great deal of painting the pot-boilers he had learnt to make at ,lyons4 ,at last his work attracted the attention and gained for him the friendship of two well-known artists1 ,sylvestre1 and ,pigalle1 the ,king's sculptor1 and they were instrumental in his being able to exhibit in the ,academy of #agee1 when he was thirty years old1 the picture which brought him his first success1 8,un ,pre qui lit la ,bible ses ,enfants40 ,this picture shows the living room of a raftered cottage1 with the old father sitting at a table round which are gathered his six sons and daughters4 ,one of his large1 horny hands is on the open ,bible before him1 the other holds the spectacles he has taken off as he stops to explain the passage he has been reading4 ,the children listen respectfully1 some attentively1 the others with an air of being absorbed in their own reflections1 while the mother1 sitting near1 stops her spinning to tell the baby on the floor not to tease the dog4 ,it is not well painted4 ,except that it shows a picturesque interior and expresses the sentiment of piety in the home it is intended to convey1 it has but little merit1 is1 indeed1 so mediocre that you wonder why1 far from bringing fame to the young man1 it should have been noticed at all4 ,to understand its success1 and the still greater success of similar pictures which followed1 you must glance at the epoch of its production4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,times ,,in ,,which ,,greuze ,,lived ,it was that period of the eighteenth century before the ,revolution when society was at its worst1 the paints and powders that covered its face1 the scents which over-perfumed its body1 its manners artificial as the antics of marionettes1 being emblematic of its state of mind4 ,society was1 in short1 so corrupt it could not become any more so1 and at length1 weary of the search for a new sensation1 there was nothing for it but a sudden rebound to some sort of morality4 ,opportunist philosophers appeared quickly on the scene1 and began to preach the pleasant doctrine that man was born very good1 full of honesty and good feeling1 running over with generosity and all the virtues1 and if he did not keep so1 it was because the miserable conventions of society had drawn him from the original perfection of his state4 ,to find virtue you must look among those of humble estate1 the poor who thought of nothing but their work and the bringing up of their large families4 ,away1 then1 from social life and its corruptions1 return to the simple ways of the lowly and needy--thus and thus only could ,france be regenerated6 ,the aristocratic victims of their caste drank all this in eagerly1 and their exaggerated efforts to follow the new cult of simplicity made the bitter-tongued ,voltaire describe them as 8mad with the desire to walk on their hands and feet1 so as to imitate as nearly as possible their virtuous ancestors of the woods40 ,diderot1 whose sudden burning enthusiasms and throbbing eloquence would have carried away his hearers in spite of themselves if they had not been only too eager to listen1 was the great apostle of the new doctrine1 and1 always in extremes1 he boldly dragged his moral theories into even the realm of art4 8,to render virtue charming and vice odious ought to be the object of every honest man who wields a pen1 a paint-brush1 or the sculptor's chisel10 he declared4 ,the vivid intelligence of ,greuze seized the position1 and sure of at least attracting attention if nothing else1 he set to work to paint some scene which would fall in with the prevalent 8debauch of morals10 as some one called it4 ,thus1 8,le ,pre qui lit la ,bible ses ,enfants0 appeared at that psychological moment which does so much to ensure success4 ,further1 it came as a refreshing change to a public weary of the pleasant insipidities of ,boucher1 of a long-continued series of pale pastorals showing the doubtful pleasures of light love4 ,it was1 moreover1 a novelty1 for no one had painted such subjects before in ,france4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iii4--,,la ,,mal,,diction ,,paternelle 8,la ,maldiction paternelle10 or 8,the ,father's ,curse10 is in the ,louvre1 and is one of the best known of ,greuze's moral pictures4 ,it is one of his worst productions4 ,observe the theatrical attitudes and gestures1 the too carefully arranged draperies1 etc41 of the actors in this exaggerated scene1 which in real life would pass in formless disorder and rough confusion4 ,and so more than the expected happened4 ,from the day of its exhibition till the ,salon was closed1 it was surrounded by admiring crowds1 and every one said1 8,who is this wonderful ,greuze80 ,those there were who replied that ,greuze had not painted the picture himself1 was incapable of such work1 for the overweening personal vanity that marred ,greuze's character had already made for him many enemies2 but the happy preacher-painter proved his position1 and but gained additional interest from the discussions that raged round him4 ,from this moment ,greuze's position was assured4 ,he was made agr of the ,academy1 which among other privileges gave him the right to exhibit what he liked there in future4 ,he sold the celebrated picture for a comparatively large sum to a ,monsieur de la ,live de ,jully4 ,he made hosts of friends1 many of them influential4 ,one of his new acquaintances offered to provide him with a studio4 ,another1 l',abb ,gougenot1 invited him to accompany him to ,italy to study art1 an offer which was accepted4 ,greuze stayed two years in ,italy1 but except that some of his pictures have ,italian names and show ,italian costumes1 this visit exercised no perceptible influence on his work1 and in #ageg he returned to steady work in the ,paris which was to be for him the scene of so many triumphs--and later1 of so much despair4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,greuze',s ,,moral ,,pictures ,the well-known 8,village ,bride10 or 8,l',accorde du ,village10 exhibited in #agfa1 was his second great success4 8,a ,father handing over the ,marriage-portion of his ,daughter0 was the first title of this picture1 and one which better1 if less poetically1 explains the scene4 ,the homely ceremony takes place in the picturesque living room of a big cottage or small farm1 and twelve people take part in it4 ,backed up by the village functionary1 who has drawn up the contract1 the old father is evidently giving some good advice as he places the bag of money in the hands of his future son-in-law4 ,the young man listens respectfully1 the shy but proud young bride hanging on to his arm4 ,the mother has taken one of her daughter's hands1 while a younger sister leans her head on the bride's shoulder4 ,children play about in various attitudes among a family of fowls who feed in the foreground4 ,though it has some of the faults of those which followed it1 this is undoubtedly the best subject-picture painted by ,greuze4 ,the composition is good1 it is well drawn1 full of a charming tender sentiment1 and the head of the fiance1 foreshadowing ,greuze's future successes1 is delicious1 fully deserving ,gautier's eulogy3 8,it is impossible to find anything younger1 fresher1 more innocent1 and more coquettishly virginal1 if the two words may be connected1 than this head40 ,preaching the beauty of family life1 the sacredness of marriage1 and the virtues and happiness of the humble1 8,l',accorde du ,village0 raised a furore4 ,its material success was equally great4 ,it was sold for #ijjj livres1 and later1 in #aghj1 it was bought for the ,cabinet du ,roi for #af1fej livres4 ,very much less successful from the artistic point of view were the two well-known pictures now in the ,louvre1 which appeared three or four years later1 8,la ,maldiction paternelle0 and--a sequel--8,le ,fils puni40 ,the first shows the vicious and debauched son trying to tear himself from the grasp of an agonised mother and little brother1 to go away with the colour-sergeant who is waiting near the door4 ,while the mother pleads1 the father1 unable to move from the chair in which illness holds him1 storms1 and with hands violently outstretched1 pronounces the curse that terrifies the other shuddering members of the family4 ,the punishment is shown in the second picture1 when the repentant son1 shabby and travel-stained1 returns to find his father dead4 ,his stick fallen from his trembling hands1 his knees giving way beneath him1 one hand on his heart1 the other pressed convulsively to his forehead1 he stands helpless at the foot of the bed on which the dead man lies4 ,beside him stands his mother1 pointing tragically to the corpse1 with an air of saying1 8,behold your work60 ,the other members of the family are too occupied with their own sorrow to notice him1 and give way to their despair in various attitudes4 ,the artificiality of pose and gesture more than suggested in 8,l',accorde du ,village0 is here exaggerated into cheap theatricalness4 ,in 8,le ,fils puni10 for example1 the attitude of the ,prodigal1 and the ,lady ,macbeth pose of the classically-draped mother1 are impossible1 and the outstretched arms1 the heaven-turned eyes1 and open mouths of the others are almost offensive4 ,this exaggeration defeats its own object4 ,you feel that these dramatis person are only posing1 tableau-vivant fashion1 to impress1 and they do not do it well enough to excite anything but criticism in you4 ,the colour is bad1 heavy1 and dull4 ,the draperies hang in stiff folds1 without suppleness4 ,these two canvases are arrangements1 not pictures2 and in spite of certain gracious qualities which always charm in ,greuze1 all the others of the long series that followed can be dismissed with the same criticism4 ,such was not the opinion of ,diderot1 the painter's most admiring critic and friend4 ,he could not find words in which to adequately praise productions that proved such 8great qualities of the heart1 and such good morals40 8,beautiful6 ,very beautiful6 ,sublime6 ,courage1 my friend ,greuze2 continue always to paint such subjects1 so that when you come to die there will be nothing you have painted you can recall without pleasure40 8,le ,paralytique1 ou la ,pit filiale10 8,le ,fruit d'une bonne ,education10 now in the celebrated ,hermitage ,gallery in ,russia1 8,la ,bndiction paternelle10 are further examples of this series of the ten commandments turned badly into paint and canvas1 and less interesting still are subjects of the order of 8,the ,torn ,will10 falling1 as they do1 into the form of the cheapest melodrama4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iv4--,,portrait ,d',,homme ,a very good example of ,greuze as a portraitist4 ,this picture is in the ,louvre1 and is remarkable for its delicate harmonious colouring and the living expression in the eyes4 ,the man seems to be listening to some one1 and on the point of opening his mouth to reply4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,pictures ,,by ,,which ,,we ,,know ,,greuze ,from time to time during these years ,greuze had painted children's heads that gave evidence of the real character of his talent1 and in #agfe1 the year of 8,la ,maldiction paternelle10 he produced 8,le ,baiser envoy10 now in ,london in the collection of the ,baron ,alfred de ,rothschild4 8,le ,baiser envoy10 or 8,the ,kiss10 represents a young woman leaning forward among the flowers of her window-sill to throw a kiss to her departing lover4 ,the beautiful form1 the charming curved face1 all instinctive with tenderness and longing1 the grace of the attitude1 the tapering fingers1 the arrangement of the framing draperies1 combine to make this one of the most exquisitely graceful of his pictures1 and one that would alone have proved his surpassing talent for portraying a certain type of woman4 ,no wonder the charmed beholders turned to ask each other whether this moral painter was not at his best when his subjects were not moral6 ,of course there is nothing immoral about 8,the ,kiss10 only ,greuze had been so praised for his preacher work1 it was only natural he should be criticised when he produced 8,la ,voluptueuse10 as he first called this picture4 ,of the appropriateness of the title there can be no doubt4 ,the lovely kiss-thrower absolutely respires voluptuousness2 moreover1 there is hardly a female figure of ,greuze1 except those showing very early childhood1 that does not suggest this characteristic4 ,even when the eyes of his very young girls are candid and clear with innocence1 the pouting lips of the half-opened mouths are sensuous1 the swelling bosom and rounded throat suggestive1 the attitude provoking4 ,in short1 the impression given1 if wholly seductive1 is invariably complex1 troubled1 full of a certain delicate corruption--see 8,innocence0 or 8,fidelity0 in the ,wallace ,collection in ,london4 8,a moralist with a passion for lovely shoulders1 a preacher who wants to see and show the bosoms of young girls10 is how he has been described4 ,not that any one cared4 ,on the contrary1 every one1 moralists included1 was libertine in the eighteenth century1 and 8deshabill et dsir0 only stamped a painter as being the mirror of his times4 ,so ,greuze's name took on still more lustre as his rosebuds grew into roses whose morning dew sparkled beneath the voluptuousness that began to bow their lovely heads4 8,love-,dreams10 8,bacchantes10 8,desire10 8,flora10 8,volupt0--there is a host of canvases bearing similar titles2 and there are many others with symbolic names showing girls weeping sentimental griefs over emblematic objects1 such as broken mirrors1 dead birds1 crushed flowers1 broken eggs or jars1 a kind of badinage that was the fashion then4 ,in a way1 he had also great success with his numerous portraits4 ,he never got beneath the surface1 was not psychological enough to express the soul of his sitter1 but the fleshy envelope he reproduced with skill4 ,the pictures of his friends ,pigalle and ,sylvestre1 and an excellent one of the engraver ,wille1 whose prints1 advertisements1 and praises did so much to extend the ,greuze cult1 are well known2 and in the vogue that followed his first success1 he received commissions to paint the ,dauphin and other important personages4 ,in spite of its dull colour1 the portrait of the painter ,jeaurat1 now in the ,louvre1 is an interesting piece of work1 showing characterisation1 the brilliant eyes giving the impression of a man accustomed to observe closely and see most things4 ,but naturally ,greuze was at his best when he painted women4 ,very beautiful is the picture of the ,marquise de ,chauvelin1 at present in the collection of ,baron ,alphonse de ,rothschild1 and some of his portraits of his wife justly caused a sensation4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,v4--,l',,oiseau ,,mort 8,l',oiseau ,mort10 or 8,the ,dead ,bird10 bequeathed by ,baron ,arthur de ,rothschild to the ,louvre1 shows one of ,greuze's most beautiful child-figures1 a little girl who has just found her bird dead4 ,you forget the mannered pose of the hands and arms1 to admire their curves and dimples4 ,the delicacy of the little grieving face is beyond praise1 with the tears starting beneath the downcast lashes1 and a mouth that seems to quiver under the stir of shadow that plays round it4 ,to turn for a moment from the artist to the man1 it goes without saying that one so sensitive to the beauty of woman must have been susceptible to her influence1 and ,greuze's numerous heart-histories are all the more interesting in that they are as creditable to his chivalry as they are romantic4 ,his first grande passion was his boyish love for the wife of his master ,grandon at ,lyons1 a woman with grown-up daughters4 ,he nursed this adoration in silence1 and it was one of the idol's daughters who afterwards told how she once surprised the love-sick youth passionately kissing one of her mother's shoes he had found under a table4 ,later1 when he went to ,italy with l',abb ,gougenot1 there was a love story which in some of its details recalls the 8,romeo and ,juliet0 legend4 ,the lovely young daughter of the proud ,duke for whom he was copying pictures fell in love with the artist1 and declared her passion4 ,the young man was equally enamoured1 but realising the inequality of their situation he hesitated1 and it was only after the lady pined1 fell ill1 and had secret meetings arranged by her old nurse1 that he confessed that the love was mutual4 ,a period of madness followed1 the lady making plans to take the money her mother had left her and elope to ,paris1 where ,greuze was to become a second ,raphael2 but his sense of honour triumphed1 and to avoid temptation he feigned an illness which kept him away from the palace4 ,he really did fall ill at last1 but as soon as he was able to be up he fled1 fearing to see the lady again4 ,an agreeable1 if unromantic sequel to the history is a letter he received from the heroine some years later1 thanking him for having behaved as he had done4 ,she was now a contented wife and the mother of some beautiful children1 she said1 and she owed all her happiness to him6 ,then there is the story of his devotion to his wife2 but unfortunately that will be told later under a very different heading to that of 8romance40 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,vanity ,,of ,,greuze ,mention has already been made of the overweening vanity which was ,greuze's most pronounced personal characteristic4 ,he had1 above all1 the highest possible opinion of his own talent1 and could not brook the slightest adverse criticism of his work4 ,even when he first came to ,paris and had not proved his abilities1 he made enemies by stupid remarks like his reply to ,natoire1 who had suggested some alteration in a detail of one of his pictures4 8,monsieur1 you would be only too happy if you were able to do anything so good yourself40 ,later1 when success had come and he was surrounded by admirers1 the desire for praise became a mania1 and he fell into a violent passion if any one made a remark that suggested anything but flattery4 ,a great friend of his1 and one of his patrons1 a ,madame ,geoffrin1 at whose house he had met many of his most influential friends and kindest critics1 said laughingly1 and with truth1 that there was a 8vritable fricasse d'enfants0 in 8,la ,mre ,bien-aime40 ,some one repeated this to ,greuze4 8,how dare she venture to criticise a work of art10 he cried violently4 8,let her tremble with fear lest ,i immortalise her by painting her as a schoolmistress1 with a whip in her hand and a face that will terrify all children living or to be born40 ,under the influence of his infatuation for himself1 he lost all sense of the proportion of things--witness the scene when the ,dauphin1 delighted with his own portrait1 asked him to begin one of the ,dauphine4 ,the presence of the lady did not prevent ,greuze1 ordinarily well-mannered1 and particularly so to women1 from replying shortly that he did not know how to paint heads of the kind1 making reference to the paint and powder all society women wore at the time4 ,small wonder that thereafter royal favours were scarce1 and he had to wait several years longer than was necessary for the logement in the ,louvre to which his position entitled him4 ,this same trait played a prominent part in his historic quarrel with the ,academy over his diploma picture4 ,it was the rule for every member to present to the ,academy on his election some representative work1 but ,greuze1 satisfied that the honour was theirs1 and that he was in a position to form his own precedent1 let years go by without offering the expected chef d'uvre4 ,it was only when the delay had lasted fourteen years1 and they wrote saying they would be obliged to forbid him to show his pictures in the ,salon unless he fulfilled his obligation1 that he conceded to the rule1 and having replied by a letter that was 8a model of pride and impertinence10 set to work on the picture4 ,believing he could do any form of subject equally well1 he chose a grandiloquent historical subject1 a style absolutely unsuited to his limitations4 8,septime ,svre reprochant son fils ,caracalla d'avoir attent sa vie dans les dfils d'cosse1 et lui disant1 ,si tu dsires ma mort1 ordonne ,papinien de me la donner0 was its title2 and if you look at it where it hangs skied in the ,louvre above the violently outstretched arms of 8,la ,maldiction paternelle10 you see that it is a most faulty and insignificant production4 ,the ,academy could not refuse it1 but they told him frankly what they thought of it4 8,monsieur10 said the ,director1 calling him in from the room where he awaited the congratulations of the associates1 whose approval he believed he had now fully earned1 8the ,academy receives you as peintre de genre4 ,it has taken into account your former productions1 which are excellent1 and has shut its eyes on this one1 which is worthy neither of them nor you40 ,the disappointment of ,greuze1 who had counted on the dignity and material advantages conferred by the title of ,historical ,painter1 can be imagined1 but amazement and fury dominated4 ,for days he could neither sleep nor eat2 and he covered reams of paper in writing to the papers to prove by technical laws and logical arguments that the picture was not only good1 but a masterpiece4 ,but for once the adoring public remained unresponsive4 ,the last straw was his friend ,diderot's criticism1 published in the usual way4 8,the figure of ,septime ,svre is ignoble in character4 ,it has the dark1 swarthy skin of a convict2 its action is uncertain4 ,it is badly drawn1 it has the wrist broken2 the distance from the neck to the breast-bone is exaggerated4 ,neither do you see the beginning of the right knee nor where it goes to beneath the covering of the bed4 ,caracalla is even more ignoble than his father1 a wooden figure1 without suppleness or movement4 ,those who force their talent do nothing with grace40 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vi4--,,les ,,deux ,s,,urs 8,les ,deux ,surs10 or 8,the ,two ,sisters10 has been until recently in the private collection of ,baron ,arthur de ,rothschild1 who bequeathed it to the ,louvre1 where it now hangs4 ,if it lacks some of the charm of ,greuze's other pictures of girls1 it possesses many of his most charming qualities--delicacy of colouring1 graceful figures1 appealing gesture4 ,the arrangement of the scarves and draperies is essentially 8,greuze40 ,having exhausted all other means of protest1 ,greuze took refuge in the sulkiness of a naughty child1 and more or less independent now that he was at last to have the coveted logement in the ,louvre1 he declared he would never again send a picture to the ,academy4 ,nor did he1 for when1 years later1 he was obliged to fall back on its aid1 the ,academy as he had known it was swallowed up in the whirlpool of the ,revolution4 ,,chapter ,,vi 8,,the ,,broken ,,pitcher0 ,,and ,,other ,,well-,,known ,,pictures ,to certain temperaments the associations of the ,louvre are as interesting as the treasures it actually contains1 and many a dreamer wandering through those superb galleries must have tried to reconstitute such scenes as the receptions held by ,greuze when1 at the height of his fame1 he was at last in possession of the logement granted him 8for life0 by the ,king in ,march #agfi4 ,he was now in the prime of life1 and the village boy had evolved into a handsome man of middle height1 with an impressive personality and air of distinction4 ,one of the two portraits of himself hanging now in the ,louvre must have been painted about this period4 ,it shows a fine head1 full of energy1 both mental and physical1 delicate yet strong1 very sensitive1 the brilliant eyes deeply set1 the whole face informed with something akin to1 without being genius4 ,the curved mouth is eloquent1 and we are told his conversation was sincere1 elevated1 and animated2 but much nervous irritability is indicated1 and a physiognomist would point significantly to the exaggerated slope backwards of the otherwise fine forehead1 suggesting a lack of that reflectiveness which turns keen perceptions and observation to the best account4 ,he was always perfectly dressed1 his manners were elegant1 and it soon grew to be the fashion to visit his studio4 ,he used to show his pictures himself1 explaining their beauties1 and his extravagant remarks1 absorbed as he was in himself and his work1 sometimes provided more entertainment than the legitimate raison d'tre of the visit4 ,all the talent and beauty of ,paris1 the greatest nobles1 royalties1 and distinguished travellers were at one time or another his guests4 ,in a characteristic letter to a friend1 ,madame ,roland describes her visit to see 8,the ,broken ,pitcher0 we all know so well by reproductions4 ,the original is back in the ,louvre now4 ,after speaking of the lovely colouring1 fresh and charming1 she says3 8,she holds the jar she has just broken in her arms1 standing near the fountain where the accident has taken place4 ,her eyelids are low1 and the mouth still half-open1 as she tries to understand the gravity of her misfortune and does not know whether she is to blame4 ,one can imagine nothing more piquant and pretty2 the only reproach the painter merits is that he has not made the little girl sorry enough to no longer feel the temptation to return to the fountain4 ,i said this to ,greuze1 and we laughed together40 ,with good-natured malice ,madame ,roland goes on to relate how when ,greuze told her the ,emperor ,joseph ,,ii4 had complimented him on the personal quality of his work1 saying he was the poet of his pictures1 she replied1 8,it is true one never quite understands how beautiful your pictures are till you describe them40 ,a remark which ,greuze took quite seriously4 ,the 8,dan10 now in the ,louvre1 and 8,l',offrande l',amour10 in the ,wallace ,collection1 are also mentioned in correspondence as having been shown by ,greuze in his studio about this time4 ,they are the best examples of his allegorical work--there was no branch of painting he did not attempt--but they are hardly more successful than his moral subjects1 and quite lack the charm of his homely1 familiar scenes4 ,chief among the latter may be mentioned 8,la paix du ,mnage10 a young father and mother clasping each other tenderly as they watch their sleeping child2 8,la ,mre ,bien-aime10 whose pretty head comes out of a crowd of the clambering children1 who excited ,madame ,geoffrin's ill-received remark2 8,le ,gouter10 a young mother feeding her two fat little boys with a spoon1 while a cat sits on the table watching enviously2 8,le ,silence10 in which the mother1 nursing one child1 tells an unhappy older one not to blow his trumpet in case he wakes the babe in the cradle4 ,greuze was never tired of painting mothers with their little children1 and the picturesque interiors in which he places them are perhaps more charming than the figures1 showing1 as they do1 the old-world utensils and objects he had round him in his own childhood4 ,the oddly-shaped cradle which he reproduced so often was that in which he himself had been rocked4 ,very celebrated at the time were the companion pictures1 8,l',enfant envoy en ,nourrice0 and 8,le ,retour de ,nourrice40 ,the first scene is laid in the quaint courtyard of a little thatched farm1 with all the family clustering round the mule on which the foster-mother is to carry away the baby4 ,the composition is charming1 with the foster-father arranging the saddle1 the grandmother giving a last word of advice to the young nurse1 the two little children afraid of the strange dog1 and the mother giving a last kiss to the baby she would give much not to have to part with4 ,the return of the baby1 now a sturdy child on his feet1 is set in the interior1 where the little hero of the occasion struggles away from his eager mother and the brother who strives to amuse him1 to return to the foster-mother4 ,these are the least affected of all the subject-pictures4 ,with the exception of the foster-father1 who stands in the second one with a cradle on his back and his eyes piously uplifted to the rafters1 all the actors seem absorbed in what they are doing1 and this sincerity accentuates the grace and sentiment which always informs ,greuze's work4 ,engravings of all these canvases1 of all his work1 were sent out in their thousands4 ,he was well known in ,germany and other countries1 and his name was almost as familiar in the bourgeois homes of provincial ,france as in ,paris4 ,seeing him at this period of his career1 the pet of princes1 and earning vast sums of money1 it is difficult to realise ,greuze could ever have fallen on evil days1 have come to actual want4 ,yet so it was to be4 ,the visit of the ,emperor ,joseph ,,ii4 referred to by ,madame ,roland1 and followed by a command for a picture1 a present of #djjj ducats1 and the conferring of the title of baron on the painter1 was the high-water mark in his career4 ,and the tide of success was not only to turn1 but to recede with tragic rapidity4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii4--,,la ,,cruche ,,cass,e 8,la ,cruche ,casse10 or 8,the ,broken ,pitcher10 is too well known in every form of reproduction to need description4 ,it hangs in the ,louvre1 and is always surrounded by eager copyists1 who strive1 very frequently in vain1 to reproduce the delicate tints of the flesh and the vague1 wondering expression in the eyes of the charming heroine4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,ruin ,,and ,,death ,even during these brilliant days1 when ,greuze was considered the most fortunate of mortals1 there lurked beneath the glittering surface of his life a grim reality which made happiness impossible1 the misery of a private life dominated by as bad a wife as ever cursed a man's existence4 ,she was a ,mademoiselle ,babuty1 daughter of a bookseller on the ,quai des ,augustins1 and entering the little shop to buy some books1 ,greuze became infatuated with her beauty4 8,white and slender as a lily1 red as a rose10 is how ,diderot describes her1 and though she was past thirty when ,greuze made her acquaintance1 she must have been a remarkably pretty woman1 with a round1 smooth forehead1 eyes full of navet beneath long shadowing lashes1 small nose1 moist lips1 delicate complexion4 ,a sentimental1 coquettish air redeemed what would otherwise have been an inane expression4 ,in the portraits under her own name1 and several pictures for which she posed1 such as 8,la ,mre ,bien-aime0 and 8,la ,philosophie endormie10 you see that if she was not the actual model1 she was certainly the ideal that inspired most of ,greuze's best work4 ,at first he had no intention of marrying her1 and they had known each other two or three years before she practically compelled him to do so by threatening to kill herself if he did not make her his wife4 ,it was a disastrous marriage4 ,lazy1 greedy1 extravagant1 devoid of all moral sense1 she soon got over the satisfaction the position of her husband gave her1 and began to regard his work merely as a means to supply her caprices4 ,when she had been married a few years she sent her two little girls away to school1 and going from bad to worse1 ended by filling the house with vulgar men1 who made ,greuze ridiculous4 ,her business training fitted her to keep the monetary accounts of the family1 and when at length her husband was obliged to look into them to try to account for the disappearance of vast sums of money1 he found she had been squandering them on her dissolute friends4 ,the extent of her audacity can be judged by her accounting for the disappearance of #ajj1jjj livres by saying she had invested it in a ship which had gone down at sea1 and she refused to give the name of the vessel or captain4 ,of all that freedom of mind and internal peace so important to all successful work1 but supremely so to the artist whose creations are to be strong1 ,greuze knew nothing4 ,petty discussions1 foolish quarrels1 then grievous wrongs and personal violences1 made up the background of his life1 and it is astonishing that the trials of man and husband did not sap the strength of the artist4 ,you would wonder why he supported it all so long did you not know that the artistic temperament finds the most important part of its life in its work1 and falls an easy prey to imposition in most things outside it4 ,besides1 at first he loved her very sincerely1 and she was the mother of his two daughters4 ,at length1 when cartoons were printed ridiculing her lightness1 and her husband for supporting it1 and her behaviour was instrumental in his having to resign his logement in the ,louvre1 even ,greuze's patience gave way1 and in #aghe a deed of separation enabled him to get rid of her4 ,considering the large sums commanded by his pictures--and it was said he painted one a day--and the vast sale of the engravings1 it is unlikely1 even with a vicious wife's extravagance1 ,greuze could ever have known want in the ordinary course of events4 ,but the terrible days of the ,revolution were at hand4 ,bank after bank failed1 and slowly but surely all his savings had vanished4 ,with the fall of the monarchy1 the annual pension of #aejj livres granted by the ,king for thirty-seven years of work in 8an art he had exercised with success0 went1 and finally he was reduced to what he was producing as a means of living4 ,but1 alas1 when from chaos anything like order arose1 and ,greuze1 now grown old1 sent to the ,salon of the year ,,viii4 seventeen works of the kind that had earned for him so much glory in the past1 the new order of things knew him not4 ,the risen ,david was the god of the moment1 and at each new picture of his a little more scorn fell on those who had preceded him4 ,it was in vain that he wrote to the papers1 calling attention1 as of old1 to the moral meaning of his work2 in vain that he tried to fall in with new ideas and paint classical scenes like his 8,ariadne at ,naxos40 ,any notice he received was worse than none1 and two years before he died he was cruelly summed up by a critic who wrote3 8,greuze is an old man inspired by ,boucher1 whom he followed4 ,his colour is not true1 his drawing poor40 ,we hear of his receiving #age francs for a picture that would formerly have brought him thousands of livres2 we hear of his wearing shabby frayed clothes he could not afford to replace4 ,finally1 there are pitiful letters1 one asking for an advance on a picture ordered out of charity1 another saying1 8,i am seventy-five years old1 and have not a single order for a picture4 ,i have nothing left but my talent and my courage40 ,in these days of bitter neglect and dire poverty ,greuze's pride stood him in good stead4 ,he seems to have worried more at the prospect of leaving his daughters unprovided for than because of his own privations1 and till the last he kept the indomitable spirit that characterised him4 8,who is king to-day80 he would ask sarcastically1 as he lay in bed waiting for the end4 8,i am ready for the journey10 he said to his friend ,barthlemy1 just before he died4 8,good-bye4 ,i shall expect you at my funeral4 ,you will be all alone there1 like the poor man's dog40 ,worn out as much by the heavy weight of a dead reputation as by the years his robust country constitution enabled him to carry so lightly1 he died on ,march #ba1 #ahje4 ,the humble funeral1 followed by two persons1 would have been tragic in its friendlessness but for the message of hope written on a wreath of ,immortelles placed on his coffin by a weeping woman closely veiled in black4 8,these flowers1 offered by the most grateful of his pupils1 are the emblem of his glory40 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii4--,,la ,,laiti,,re 8,la ,laitire10 or 8,the ,milkmaid10 may perhaps be given as quite the most representative of ,greuze's works4 ,the affected pose and simpering smile1 the unsuitability and over-arrangement of the dress1 are as characteristic of the painter as the perfect grace of the ensemble1 the delicious coquetry of the attitude1 the dimpled roundness of the form1 and1 above all1 the sparkle in the clear eyes and the exquisite bloom of the flesh4 ,the picture is in the ,louvre4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,greuze ,when you think of the important place held by ,greuze before the ,revolution in the art of the eighteenth century1 above all1 when you reflect on how1 being long dead1 he still speaks in accents of such beauty1 his pictures1 valued at vast sums1 finding honoured places in the art treasure-houses of the world1 it comes almost as a shock to consider how far from being a really great artist he was4 ,absence of sincerity is his chief fault4 ,we read he used to talk much and very eloquently about studying ,nature1 and had at one time a habit of wandering about the streets in search of subjects1 that he used even to make sketches and studies on the spot1 but once home and at work on the composition of the picture1 he evidently gave rein to the libertine imagination we know4 ,in short1 if he really ,saw1 he ,interpreted his own way1 and that way resulted in his eliminating all the ,strength and most of the ,truth4 ,in the theatrical moral pictures1 for example1 it never seems to have occurred to him that each scene that would tell a story is composed of a whole series of emotions and gestures1 and that to try to fix on one canvas a situation which of its nature must be mobile and composed of many changes1 is to attempt the false as well as the impossible4 ,further1 even taking him as ,diderot's disciple1 8a painter who studied with a literary man10 he is grievously at fault1 for the idea of life he conveys is that of a melodrama in which vice is invariably punished and virtue rewarded--and life is not thus4 ,he took liberties with ,nature1 too1 when he supposedly copied his homely1 familiar scenes direct from life4 ,his peasant women take on attitudes and smirk as they feed the carefully placed children2 no sweeping or labour of any sort seems to soil the hands of the busiest housewife2 clinging children never succeed in disarranging the garments or hair of the mothers and nurses4 ,by no stretch of the imagination could you see his milkmaids delivering milk2 his servants look like ladies 8making believe40 ,the attitudes of all his dramatis person are always affected1 the navet of his girls and children mannered1 their pathos conventional4 ,tears never redden their eyes2 no emotion disarranges the kerchief carefully arranged to show more than is necessary of the throat and breast4 ,and the head of a child of twelve is often placed on the throat and bosom of a girl of seventeen4 ,except when he touches flesh his colour is rarely good1 the scheme too grey1 with undecided reds1 dull violets1 dirty blues1 and muddy foundations4 ,the draperies are often badly painted1 a fault which he explained by saying he purposely neglected them to give more value to the painting of the flesh4 ,then there is his monotony4 ,no painter ever copied himself with more constancy and indefatigability4 ,he has but three or four types1 and these he copies and recopies till you never want to see them again4 ,the father is always the same venerable man1 much too old to be the father of such young children2 the mother does not vary2 it is always the same child a size or two smaller or larger1 as the case may be4 ,although he nominally gives to his girls and women a profession by labelling them washerwomen1 knitters1 philosophers1 chesnut-sellers1 kitchen wenches1 and so forth1 they all have the air of being members of one family1 and striking likenesses at that4 ,and one and all have the appearance of posing in light opera rather than of playing a part in life4 ,the peasant mothers of large families have that charming coquettishness which is the hall-mark of every female he painted4 ,the picturesque interiors are equally wanting in variety4 ,it has been urged by ,greuze's admirers that if he had been properly trained1 or had at least been spared those early years in ,grandon's picture-manufactory1 had been less inclined to listen to flatteries and the advice of ,diderot1 who praised him for 8not making his peasants coarse10 he might have overcome his faults and developed the qualities of a ,chardin4 ,the reply to this is that anything touching on genius cannot be held in check or turned from its own full expansion1 that it is more than likely that ,greuze expressed all he had to say1 and himself summed up his own limitations when he said1 8,be piquant1 if you cannot be true40 ,to turn to the much pleasanter theme of his good qualities1 ,greuze was an innovator4 ,he was the first to go to humble life for inspiration1 and he brought into the painting of bourgeois subjects a distinct character till then seen only in historical scenes4 ,he created in ,france the moral type of painting4 ,on ,sundays in the ,louvre you still see those who do not understand the beauty of colour1 line1 and subtler poetry1 and find utility the essential condition of all art1 lingering admiringly before 8,la ,maldiction paternelle0 and 8,le ,fils puni02 and engravings of similar works are still cherished objects in many a home4 ,valuable1 too1 is his quality of being documentary4 ,he admirably interpreted his age with its superficiality running into theatricalness1 its affectations of a morality which worshipped languor and voluptuousness under the name of 8,innocence40 ,last and best of all1 there are the heads by which we know him4 ,merely clever in all else1 ,greuze rises above himself when he approaches these4 ,nothing could be fresher or more lightly touched than the little blonde heads of his children1 the fresh rose of their cheeks1 the features suggested under the baby fat1 the delicacy of the little unformed members set down with a tenderness that mocks at the limitations of pigments4 ,the same rare quality of livingness animates the older heads4 ,the eyes of the young girls have depth and flame1 or their dewy sparkle is subdued in seductive languor4 ,the face almost seems to tremble with emotion while a gleaming tear1 a big wet drop1 escapes from beneath the heavy lids4 ,the nostrils quiver1 the breath comes from between the half-opened mouth1 the full lips seem to be making a movement forward4 ,the white flesh is soft and warm1 and rich life pulses delicately under the gauze-veiled bosom4 ,in short1 mediocre in all other branches of painting1 and affected and faulty at his best1 in this exquisite series ,greuze not only proves that he possessed a very personal and poetic vision of his own1 but that he had a glint of that 8divine spark0 which sets technique at naught1 and results in the instinctive work of the inspired artist4 ,the plates are printed by ,,bemrose ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,derby and ,london ,the text at the ,,ballantyne ,,press1 ,edinburgh