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Greuze knew how to give a roundness and softness to the skin of
hisyoung models; the rosy cheeks rose, the curves were modest and imbued
with tenderness, the hair was flowing and caressing, and the fabrics moved
gracefully in the light.
Greuze, married to the daughter of a bookseller whose portrait he exhi-
bited, divorced his wife Anne-Gabrielle, whom he portrayed as a fury in his
«Angry Woman.» They had two daughters.
The first, Anna-Geneviève, embraced her father’s career and supported him
until his death. She was buried beside him, along with her sister Louise
Gabrielle, in a tomb in the Montmartre cemetery.
Greuze painted his daughters with love and delicacy, infusing all the child-
ren depicted in his paintings with an angelic aura.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze,
The Dead Bird, also known as: A Child Hesitating to Touch a
Bird for Fear It May Be Dead, Salon of 1800.
Oil on canvas, 68 × 55 cm.
Louvre Museum, Paris, France.
© GrandPalaisRmn (Louvre Museum) / Photo Jean-Gilles Berizzi