The Return of the Young Hunter, c. 1775, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French, 1725–1805, 20 1/2 x 26 5/16 in. (52.1 x 66.9 cm) (image)32 7/8 x 38 x 1 3/4 in. (83.5 x 96.52 x 4.45 cm) (outer frame), Pen and black ink, brush and black and gray wash, heightened with white, over graphite, on brown paper; laid down on ivory paper with framing lines in pen and brown ink, France, 18th century, Modern viewers find Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s theatrical stagings melodramatic and contrived—akin to soap operas. But in his lifetime, Greuze was widely admired for elevating family drama to high art. The implicit subject here is the joy of parenthood.

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