Lot 86
  • 86

Jean-Baptiste Greuze

Estimate
18,000 - 22,000 GBP
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Description

  • Jean-Baptiste Greuze
  • The Blind Carrying the Crippled
  • Pen and brown ink and grey wash over traces of black chalk within pen and brown ink framing lines;
    bears inscription JB GREUZE DEL and L'Aveugle et le paralytique (fable) on the mount
  • 11 3/8 x 15 1/4 inches

Provenance

Couvreur sale, Paris, 1-2 December 1875;
sale, Paris, Féral, 27 May 1877;
sale, London, Christie's 2 July 1996, lot 259

Literature

J. Martin, Catalogue de l'oeuvre de Greuze, Paris 1908, no. 387 (as L'Aveugle et le Paralytique)

Condition

Laid down on original 18th Century mount, mount is then laid onto board. Overall in very good condition. Very faint scattered foxing throughout the sheet, barely visible. A few darker brown spots in the upper left corner. Medium remains very fresh and overall image strong. Sold in a gilded frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

This powerful didactic drawing depicts a blind old man carrying a cripple on his back.  The subject must derive from the fable about the lame and the blind.  There have been many interpretations of the fable throughout history and it became a popular anecdote that was interpreted both in visual art and in literary texts during the eighteenth century.

Greuze’s compositions often incorporate a moralising message, even those that seem at first glance to be straightforward genre scenes.  Here, the artist has chosen to place his figures in a rugged landscape, which he defines using quick, wide brush strokes to denote trees and foliage.  Greuze’s landscapes are often cursory, produced as mere backdrops for his human protagonists, and this is certainly the case here, where he concentrates his brush strokes and pen and ink on the unlikely pair at the forefront of his composition.  Stylistically, this drawing would appear to date from late in Greuze’s career, like the similarly executed drawing of A Girl seated at a Table, sold in 2003, which Edgar Munhall dated circa 1780-90.1

Greuze has produced a sensitive and moving drawing, the underlying sentiment of which seems to be that despite their individual shortcomings, this improbable pair have united in their time of need, and together they can achieve a level of functionality that would be beyond either one on his own.

1. Sale, New York, Christie’s, 22 January 2003, lot 68