JEAN-BAPTISTE GREUZE
72 Study of the Head of an
Old Man
Red chalk; H: 39.6 cm (i5^5 /s in.); W: 32 cm (i2^5 /s in.)
84.06.72
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Verso) Austrian customs
stamp, N.ji, in brown ink.
PROVENANCE: Von Amerling collection, Vienna (sale,
Dorotheum, Vienna, May 3-6, 1916, lot 96); private
collection, London; art market, London.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.THIS MOVING STUDY IS EXEMPLARY OF GREUZE's
analysis of facial expressions, for which he was much ad-
mired by his contemporaries. It does not correspond pre-
cisely to any painted image, but is closest to the old man
seated at the right in his painting L'Aveugle trompe (Mos-
cow, Pushkin Museum). The darkening of the closed
eyes sustains this connection despite the many differences
in detail between drawing and painted figure. The as-
sociation of the two would indicate a date of circa 1755
for the study. The drawing also reflects the artist's pro-
found involvement with the character of his subjects, a
quality noted by his contemporary Diderot.^1i. Salons, ed.J. SeznecandJ. Adhemar (Oxford, 1957), vol. i,
p. 13 5. A drawing showing the same figure in reverse and in an
oval format is in the Musee du Berry, Bourges, and is known
to the author only through a photograph (Bulloz 38411).164 FRENCH SCHOOL • GREUZE