Head of a Young Girl

Greuze's têtes d'expression — expressive head studies — represent his most commercially successful and technically accomplished format outside his large narrative paintings. A head of a young girl permitted him to concentrate entirely on the problem of rendered emotion without the supporting apparatus of narrative, setting, or moral: pure physiognomic expression as artistic achievement and object of desire. Collectors bought these heads to place in cabinets alongside other small-format luxury goods, and Greuze produced them in sufficient quantity to suggest that they constituted a significant part of his income.

The format is simplified to face, neck, and the upper edge of a loose garment, directing all pictorial energy into the rendering of expression. Greuze's smooth, sensuous modeling of the skin exploits the half-light with exceptional control, describing the face's volumes in gradual transitions that give the head a sculptural presence.