The Paternal Blessing, or The Departure of Basile
<p>The second half of the 1700s was an age of great sentiment; tears flowed profusely in art and literature. Jean-Baptiste Greuze in particular capitalized on this cult of feeling.<br><em>The Paternal Blessing</em> was an illustration for a pictorial narrative by Greuze called <em>Bazile and Thibault</em>, or <em>The Two Educations</em>. It told the story of two brothers, one good and one bad. Reflecting theories of nature versus nurture espoused by the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78), Bazile became a good man because he had been breast-fed as an infant at home, while Thibault became a bad man because he had been sent away to a wet nurse. Here, Bazile receives his father’s blessing before setting out on his own.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1759
- Dimensions
- 37.3 × 50.8 cm (14 11/16 × 20 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Jean Baptiste Greuze
Artist
Drawing
By or after Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Full artist profile →More
More by Jean Baptiste Greuze
Women and Children Mourning a Dead Man
1778 · Pen and brown ink, and brush and gray and brown wash, with graphite, on cream laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper
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
Seated Gentleman
1764 · Red chalk on ivory laid paper
The Notary: A Study for "The Marriage Contract"
1761 · Black chalk with stumping, with red chalk, heightened with white chalk, on tan laid paper, laid down on card
Ange Laurent de Lalive de Jully
1759 · Oil on canvas
Study of a Groom
1755 · Black chalk, with stumping and black crayon, red and brown chalk, heightened with white chalk, on buff laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Jean Baptiste Greuze
- Year
- 1759
- Dimensions
- 37.3 × 50.8 cm (14 11/16 × 20 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1759-112677
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified