Jean-Baptiste Greuze

French painter. Born in Tournus, he studied in Lyon, and then moved to Paris around 1750. He gained a great reputation with his work "A Father Reading the Bible to His Family" (St. Petersburg, Hermitage Museum), which was exhibited at the Salon in 1755, and entered the Academy in 1769. His combination of Rococo sweetness, the precise depiction of Dutch painting, and a slightly didactic theme was welcomed by Diderot and others who were calling for "moral painting" at the time. His representative works include "A Village Wedding" and "The Broken Bottle" (both at the Louvre Museum), but despite the praise of Diderot and others, they are essentially only one aspect of Rococo sentimentalism. Rather, his talents are displayed in the fields of classical history painting and portraits reminiscent of Rembrandt's influence.

[Kimio Nakayama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの画家。トゥールニュに生まれ、リヨンで学んだのち、1750年ころパリに出る。55年サロン出品の『家族に聖書を読みきかせる父親』（サンクト・ペテルブルグ、エルミタージュ美術館）で世評を高め、69年アカデミー入り。ロココ風の甘美さと、オランダ絵画の精密な描写、それに若干の教訓性を帯びた主題の結合は、当時「道徳絵画」を求めたディドロたちの主張に迎えられた。『村の結婚』『こわれた瓶』（ともにルーブル美術館）などが代表作だが、ディドロたちの称揚にもかかわらず、本質的にはそれらはロココ的感傷主義の一側面でしかない。むしろ、古典主義的な歴史画、あるいはレンブラントの影響を思わせる肖像画の分野に彼の力量は発揮されている。

［中山公男］

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