If Brookner in her novels tells us how to live, in her art criticism she teaches us to see and distinguish and value. I enjoyed
my visit to the Wallace Collection, but I suspect I may be among the viewers she identifies here:
Greuze's pictures have an immediate appeal - to the sentimental and untutored, of whom, fortunately, there are still many. (Greuze, Conclusion)
Her reaction to the uneven oeuvre of Jean-Baptiste Greuze, perhaps rather more than to that of Jacques-Louis David, subject of her other major study, gives insight into her taste. She dislikes much of Greuze's work, but singles out a handful of works for our appreciation and instruction:
The painter who could respond so openly to the civilized charm of the Marquise de Bezons, who could remember the exact stance of a bashful country girl, who could paint Wille and Sophie Arnould and the luminous infant Bertin* is one who deserves a permanent place not only in histories of art but in the affections of those who try, with a seriousness equal to Greuze's own, to understand the evolution of his century. (Ibid.)
*The
Bertin painting featured on the book's dustjacket.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBgJOf9oTE_erPcHQqpmM1M1FuNhGdwYUHjDsXhczYeH6FrEKUF7glbnyrt_XZvvCLixmzt8mmy6sFm6t16d8oGYlmmpLA5nL0T00h7AfAsRgtHrtg7-w9SoLez66W4I6ckU0F8QOF34/s320/1938.198-812x1024.jpg) |
Marquise de Bezons, Baltimore
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLNCllalZSh74zNECNUZIjaEaRlg0tM76EymrsuSA-0NaabqqXw5HeVnDWjHPHSX3_w1zrNjo3fRjk7k67xRdBXE3oUBtxxm9mKgHaF9FfTaAkJCv-jrWWwVsF22OfJYdlb8c0nQrz-s/s320/20d215e5eafeaa77a2e361f482f02417.jpg) |
Study for L’Accordée de Village
Chalon-sur-Saône,
Musée
Denon
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafCaMyxAAad9DKT3z_vFUJ8oBppRbuGRR3L74WekxGMU1PEzZ09uqG7X70bMF4ESI3R2Xi4Nhi3au6ke1_-1vjkYX5mkJKML6sT5FQwQhZcAKvcQD992Syng_f8W-BUpIOJOJ6Bgd1eI/s320/Jean-Baptiste_Greuze_-_Portrait_of_Georges_Wille_-_WGA10670.jpg) |
Portrait of Wille
Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André Collection
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwt954AgVDDlAzmJc6PN0ThzFdLTW0jYB1iecB6rhTXsu_vlLxwZqk2UGbaZYmazxbaCG4XS39iQh3r6yCvduS7Q_hFj79NiEEGRlEvOoV2xZNeZ-xIPFZTABmIDX0saLTDI1F8SNyoLk/s320/17a49854f9326eb0bea233f843c6a8aa.jpg) |
[Formerly thought to be] Portrait of Sophie Arnould
Wallace Collection |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Tsykt_cBK4a62Nc-7Mz4I6Hu6O6TwdJpz3OTfhI__ucKM6QR9ao88_DXHEOAhkn2YBBFBObkhIv97I1Oh_xx3vmzhV80tsYXBX7hjIWx0ajnvul9j-aUxoORP_keC-V5SpLQWOJ7ehE/s320/edouard-bertin-by-Jean-Baptiste-Greuze-045.jpg) |
Portrait of E.-F. Bertin, Louvre |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Questions and comments are always welcome. (Please note: there will be a short delay before publication, as comments are moderated.)