![Jean-Baptiste Greuze - Filial Piety [1763] by Gandalf's Gallery](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s3FxV_fAot8p07SmTgRfDYIpVN1WR4lTS6lS-MVtol4kRKdjMysUnAXl-4IoUlVR6jNIgihFyj7O4UfP-aX6MtMiDRNt48iGm4GtKT1eyKNewVpZqs4gVnSdUZao6hXg=s0-d)
Greuze (Toumus, France, August 21, 1725 - Paris, March 4, 1805) painted a whole series of now famous works on family morals, of which this is an excellent example. The painting is known by various names (Filial Piety, The Paralytic and his Family, The Benefits of a Good Education) and shows an aged, paralysed man surrounded and cared for by his good and loving family. Painted in 1763, the work brought renown to the author and was purchased by Catherine II through the mediation of Denis Diderot, a famous French philosopher of the age of the Enlightenment, who was much impressed with the artist's work. The artist constructed his painting like an Antique bas-relief, dividing it into clear, precise planes, in order to emphasize the significance of the story and the moral it contains. At the same time, he revealed a great gift for realistic depiction in his ability to capture expressive poses and gestures, for which he made many preliminary drawings and studies.
[Oil on canvas, 115 x 146 cm]
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