Portrait de jeune fille 1795

Jean-Baptiste Greuze painted this portrait of a young girl, probably in France, sometime in the late 18th century. With her direct gaze, tousled hair, and loosely draped clothing, this young woman is presented in a manner that would have been considered informal and intimate at that time. It is likely that this painting was not commissioned, but that Greuze created it of his own volition. Greuze’s work often challenged the artistic conventions of his day. Although he was accepted into the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, Greuze often criticized the institution. He preferred to depict scenes of everyday life, and, as we can see here, to focus on the emotional and psychological states of his subjects, in contrast to the more formal, idealized portraits that were favored by the French aristocracy. The rise of the art market and the increasing popularity of genres such as portraiture changed how paintings were made, exhibited, and consumed. Social history and archival research helps us to understand how these forces helped to shape the art of the past.