DISCOVERART

Jean Baptiste Greuze

Portrait of the Artist's Mother

1775
Black, red, and white chalk with stumping on brownish-gray laid paper, laid down on a ivory laid card
37.7 × 29.3 cm (14.8 × 11.5 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This remarkable study of dignified old age is a poignant, rare portrait of Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s mother, Claudine, made when she was approximately 75 years old. Recently discovered, it documents a tender reunion of mother and son. Greuze visited his family in Tournus in 1755 on his way to Italy with Abbot Gougenot. A related drawing in a private Parisian collection has been identified as Madame Greuze Embracing Her Son after 20 Years Absence ; the date of that work suggests that the present sheet was also made in 1775.

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