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Jean-Baptiste GREUZE (Tournus, 1725 - Paris, 1805) Young gir…
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Estimate €60,000 - €80,000
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Description
Jean-Baptiste GREUZE (Tournus, 1725 - Paris, 1805) Young girl holding a bird in her hands Oval canvas Height : 63 cm Width: 52,5 cm Louis XVI period carved and gilt wood frame, stamped Levert Jean-Baptiste Greuze painted the motif of a young girl by a birdcage on at least three occasions between 1757 and 1800, most often with a dead bird. The most famous version, Jeune fille pleurant son oiseau mort, 1765 (1) , has given rise to many interpretations, notably that of Denis Diderot, who sees in it an allusion to a story of seduction (the dead bird is generally interpreted as the symbol of lost virginity, even if this meaning was not obvious to all contemporaries). Greuze plays on the ambiguity between innocence and eroticism. The most spectacular version is probably that in the Farida and Henri Seydoux collection, Paris (2), while L'oiseau mort, Paris (Musée du Louvre) dated 1800 shows that the artist was interested in this theme for more than forty years. The special feature of our painting is that the bird is very much alive and is trying to escape from the hands of the young girl, who is holding it carefully and seems to be enjoying the situation. Next to her is an open cage with a bowl on top. In the 18th century, the bird (often a sparrow or dove) was a traditional symbol of purity and virginity. This young girl of 10 or 11 was leaving the world of childhood. D'Alembert and Diderot's Encyclopaedia refers to the age of puberty as "that age when nature renews itself and opens up the source of feeling" (3). The bird here is not simply a domestic animal: it represents the moral state of the young girl, and the open cage reinforces this idea. The young girl's expression can be interpreted as naivety, a slight melancholy or even a form of troubled conscience, so the bird becomes a metaphor for freedom and the desire for the passing of time. We would like to thank Mrs Yuriko Jackal for confirming the autograph nature of our painting. (1) Salon of 1759, Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland, Inv. NG435. (2) Greuze, l'Enfance en lumière, Paris, Petit Palais, 2025, cat. N°67 rep. p.288. (3) Jaucourt, 1765, p.442. Expert : Cabinet TURQUIN (Stéphane PINTA)
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About the sale CLASSIC & MODERN (in preparation)
Auction location
Auction time 06/26/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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