About the Artist

Jean-Baptist Greuze (1725 Tournus, Saone-et-Loire-1805 Paris) is a major representative of pointier morale (moralizing genre painting) and a pioneer of neoclassicism. After a three year apprenticeship under Charles Gardon in Lyon, he moved to Paris in 1747, where he studied at the Academy in 1755. He received lasting inspiration from 17th century Dutch genre painting through contact with the engravers Philippe Le Bas and Pierre Etienne Moitte. In comparison, a trip to Italy in 1756 was less influential. After his return he soon achieved great fame, in large part due to the contributions of the critic Denis Dederot (1713-1784). Greuze was accepted into the Academy in 1769. He developed the themes of his pictures from the life of the bourgeoisie and presented them in a way that incorporated the pathos of contemporary historical painting. The artist's works include The book Dealer Francois babuti, c. 1759, collection David-will, Paris; The Ungrateful Son, 1777,Musee du Louvre, Paris; and the First Furrow, 1801, Pushkin Musem of Fraphic Art, Moscow.