Volupté

Painted on the eve of the French Revolution in 1789, Volupté belongs to Greuze's series of expressive female heads that blurred the line between virtue and sensuality. Diderot had famously praised Greuze's ability to depict moral sentiment, but critics increasingly noted the erotic undercurrent in these ostensibly innocent subjects. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays theatrically posed figures, expressive faces registering emotion with unsubtle directness, a palette ranging from Rococo pastels in early works to colder, more sober tones after the Revolution.

Warm flesh tones built up through translucent glazes create a luminous quality, with the figure's expression and gesture carefully calibrated to suggest both abandon and innocence.