Artist of the week
Faces, satin and spilled eggs
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Jean-Baptiste Greuze, a French painter of faces and feelings, from the 1750s to the 1780s. In Broken Eggs, a young woman sits on the floor by a spilled basket, an old woman grips a young man’s arm, and a boy leans on a barrel. A princess in white ruffles puts a wreath of blue flowers on her little dog, the Comte d’Angiviller wears pink silk and gold brocade, and two young women look anxiously away. Aegina looks up from a white bed as Jupiter’s eagle appears in a golden cloud.
As a puzzle
Start with the faces and the pale fabrics: the white satin sleeves, the grey veil, the princess’s ruffles and pink roses, the count’s gold waistcoat against his pink coat. Most grounds are dark and plain, brown or grey, and they are the slow part. Broken Eggs has a whole room to build, with a window, a table and the basket, and Aegina has wide white sheets and dark curtains, so give both a moderate count. Keep the heads low.
A good size here: 40–150 pieces.
Also filed under French Rococo
Subjects here: PortraitsInteriorsMyths and Legends
6 pictures, pick one to build
