Study of a Groom c. 1760

This is a study of a groom by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, made with black and white chalk on paper. Chalk is a humble material, really, quick to apply and relatively inexpensive. It’s a medium perfectly suited for studies, where the artist is working out a composition, or getting to know a subject. The effect here is linear, but also tonal. Notice how Greuze varies the pressure of his hand to create a sense of volume, and light falling across the groom’s form. The very immediacy of the medium gives us access to the artist's thinking. We can see how the drawing evolved, the exploratory strokes and adjustments. It’s like catching Greuze in the act of envisioning the man before us. Think, too, about what it meant to depict someone of this social class at this time. Greuze was known for his sentimental scenes of everyday life, and this study offers a glimpse into the labor and lives of those who served the aristocracy. In the end, the drawing is a reminder that all art is in some way a record of human activity, both in its making and in its subject.