Le Reveil

Le Reveil (The Awakening), dating to about 1765, captures a moment of drowsy consciousness in one of Greuze's characteristic young female subjects. This period marked the height of Greuze's critical success, when Diderot championed his moralizing genre scenes and expressive heads in his Salon reviews. 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.

Soft, diffused lighting models the figure's features with Greuze's signature pearly flesh tones, while the loosely rendered bedding and clothing create textural contrast.