Greuze and His Beautiful Heads
The order of values was respected, with the goddess Diana towering over the pretty nymph Callisto.
Result: €520,000
Jean-Baptiste Greuze certainly wasn’t expected in this field. Nevertheless, the painter whose work reflects a certain return to morality has given his expressive heads a noble reputation, which has been appreciated in their time and is now being rediscovered after a long period of obscurity. The results obtained by Diana and Callisto (46.5 x 38.5 cm/18.30 x 15.15 in), the subject of an article in La Gazette no. 43, attest to this. The goddess, adorned with a delicate red ribbon and displaying none of the attributes usually associated with her, fetched €520,000, while the pretty nymph, dressed in animal skin, fetched a trophy of €208,000. The two canvases had already been sold at Drouot on July 11, 1978 — which were never presented in the public since — the first fetching around €116,800 in updated value, the second €102,000. Since then, the gap has widened… the goddess dominated the nymph! This type of representation was initiated by Charles Le Brun in the 17th century, as part of an academic tradition. The expert’s enthusiasm for these beautiful, well-formed heads, the result of a change in Greuze’s style in the early 1760s, was amply justified. The 1760s were indeed the years of consecration for the Tournus-born painter. In 1764, he presented L’Accordée de village at the Salon and triumphed. The Goncourt brothers went on to write: “The success of L’Accordée de village confirmed Greuze in his path, in his vocation, the depiction of bourgeois and popular mores, to which the curiosity and interest of the great world, weary of mythological gallantries, saucy nudity and gallant tableautins, were taking a liking. The painter went in search of materials, ideas, models and inspirations in the Paris where Mercier gleaned his observations, seeking, like this painter with a pen, his notes and sketches in the streets and suburbs, in the markets, on the quays, in the midst of the people, the crowds.”
Friday 13 December 2024 – 14:00 (CET) – Live
Salle 16 – Hôtel Drouot – 75009 Paris
Libert et associés
