Broken Eggs

Painting by Jean-Baptiste Greuze

Broken Eggs

Artist| Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Year| 1756
Medium| Oil on canvas
Dimensions| 73 cm × 94 cm (29 in × 37 in)
Location| Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Broken Eggs is an oil on canvas painting by French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze, created in 1756. It is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, which acquired it in 1920.[1]

## History and description

[edit]

Greuze exhibited the work in the Salon of 1757 with a long explanatory title: Une Mère grondant un jeune Homme pour avoir renversé un Panier d’Oeufs que sa Servante apportoit du Marché. Un Enfant tente de raccomoder un oeuf cassé ("A mother scolding a young man for having overturned a basket of eggs that her servant brought from the market. A child attempts to repair a broken egg").[1]

The painting depicts an old woman rebuking a young man who is responsible for having broken the eggs in the basket of a servant girl who sits dejectedly on the floor. It is the first of many paintings by Greuze where he uses broken objects as a metaphor for the loss of a young girl's virginity.[2]

After a two-year stay in Italy, the artist decided to return to France and show his works created in that country at the Paris Salon of 1757. At the exhibition, Greuze's works were side by side with works by Jean Siméon Chardin. There, Broken Eggs received high praise from critics. One of them wrote that the noble pose of the young maid “is worthy of the brush of a historical artist”.[1]

The work was created in Rome, but the main source of inspiration may have been the painting of the same name by the Dutch painter Frans van Mieris the Elder (1655-1657), which Greuze may have known from an engraving. The artist, despite the main trends of Italian painting, was not really interested in subjects from ancient history and Roman mythology; instead he preferred modern subjects with moral overtones.

Greuze created genre paintings depicting scenes from everyday life. In the spring of 1756, he created Broken Eggs for Abbé Gougenot. He also made another painting for him in February 1757, The Neapolitan Gesture. Both works are of similar size and presumably had a narrative connection. In Broken Eggs, a mother appears to be scolding her young son for knocking over a basket of eggs that a maid has brought from the market, while a small child tries to mend a broken egg. Greuze often depicted in his works three or more characters, varying in age, who are involved in some kind of conflict, while occasionally one of them is providing commentary on the actions of the others; in this case that is the child. It seems clear from the looks of the saddened maid and the gloomy child that something more than eggs has been lost. For an 18th century viewer, it would be clear that broken eggs were a symbol of the loss of innocence. The child's gaze towards the other characters and the shell of a broken egg in his hand, the content of which flows down to the ground, prompts the viewer to wonder about the connection between the maid and the young man.[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Broken Eggs". www.metmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
2. ^ Greuze J.-B., Thompson J. M. & Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1990). Jean-Baptiste Greuze. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 13–14. OCLC 249060343.
3. ^ Greuze J.-B., Thompson J. M. & Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1990). Jean-Baptiste Greuze. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 13–14. OCLC 249060343.

* v
* t
* e

Jean-Baptiste Greuze

Paintings|

* The Bible Reading (1755)
* The Lazy Boy (1755)
* Broken Eggs (1756)
* The Guitar Player (c. 1757)
* The Village Bride (1761)
* The Laundress (1761)
* The Broken Mirror (1763)
* The Broken Vessel (c. 1771–1772)
* The Lady of Charity (1773)
* The Kings' Tart (1774)
* The Father's Curse (1777)
* Cupid Crowned by Psyche (1785–1790)
* Ariadne (c. 1804)

Family|

* Anna-Geneviève Greuze (daughter)

* v
* t
* e

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Places|

| The Met Fifth Avenue|

* Anna Wintour Costume Center
* Astor Court
* Robert Goldwater Library
* Temple of Dendur
* Thomas J. Watson Library

|

Other sites|

* The Cloisters
* Met Breuer

Directors|

* Luigi Palma di Cesnola
* Caspar Purdon Clarke
* Edward Robinson
* Herbert Eustis Winlock
* Francis Henry Taylor
* James Rorimer
* Thomas Hoving
* Philippe de Montebello
* Thomas P. Campbell

Miscellaneous|

* Met Gala
* Museum Mile
* Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

Antiquities|

* Amathus sarcophagus
* Bajaur casket
* Burke Jizō
* Pratt Ivories
* Coffin of Nedjemankh
* Cesnola Sphinx Funerary Stele
* Dipylon krater
* Magdeburg Ivories
* Armenian Gospel with Silver Cover
* Calligraphic Galleon
* Carp and Pine
* Chair of Reniseneb
* Fieschi Morgan Staurotheke
* Hounds and Jackals
* The Unicorn Tapestries
* Hunting of Birds with a Hawk and a Bow
* Kettle Drums
* Kneeling Bull with Vessel
* Miniature Altarpiece with the Crucifixion
* Modern Gothic cabinet
* Montebello Mosaics
* Morgan Casket
* Pair of Incense Boxes in the Shape of Mandarin Ducks
* Pomegranate carved in the round
* Rectangular Octave Virginal
* Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio
* Intan Jizō
* The Story of Troy
* The Triumph of Fame
* Vase with lid
* Woman Seen from the Back
* Statuette of Mercury
* Statuette of the lady Tiye
* Phoenician metal bowls

Paintings|

* 1476 Altarpiece
* A Cavalryman
* A Vase of Flowers (1716)
* The Abduction of Rebecca
* The Accommodations of Desire
* The Actor (painting)
* Adoration of the Magi (Bosch, New York)
* Adoration of the Shepherds (Mantegna)
* The Aegean Sea
* The Afternoon Meal (Luis Meléndez)
* Alexander Hamilton (Trumbull)
* The Allegory of Faith
* Allegory of the Planets and Continents
* Alpine Pool
* Altman Madonna
* America Today
* Ancient Rome (painting)
* Annunciation (Memling)
* Annunziata Polyptych
* Anthony van Dyck self portrait
* Approaching Thunder Storm
* Arab Woman (watercolor)
* Arcadia (painting)
* Ariadne (Giorgio de Chirico)
* Aristotle with a Bust of Homer
* Artillery (Roger de la Fresnaye)
* The Artist's Wife and His Setter Dog
* At the Seaside
* Au Lapin Agile
* Autumn Ivy (Ogata Kenzan)
* Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)
* Bamboo in the Four Seasons
* Bache Madonna
* Bain à la Grenouillère
* The Baker's Cart
* The Banks of the Bièvre near Bicêtre
* Banquet in Silence (Marsden Hartley)
* Bashi-Bazouk (Jean-Léon Gérôme)
* A Basket of Clams (Winslow Homer)
* Beauty Revealed
* Black Iris (painting)
* Black Stork in a Landscape
* Boating (Édouard Manet)
* Annunciation (Botticelli, New York)
* Bouquet of Small Chrysanthemums (Léon Bonvin)
* Boy Carrying a Sword
* The Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne
* Brigand and His Wife in Prayer
* Bringing Down Marble from the Quarries to Carrara
* The Brioche
* Broadway and 42nd Street
* Broken Eggs
* Burg Weiler Altarpiece
* Butler Madonna
* By the Seashore
* Ca' Dolfin Tiepolos
* The Calm Sea (painting)
* Camouflage Self-Portrait
* Cannon Rock (painting)
* The Card Players
* Catania and Mount Etna
* Cemetery, New Mexico (Marsden Hartley)
* Cervara Altarpiece
* The Chess Players (Eakins painting)
* Children Playing with a Goat
* Christ Carrying the Cross (El Greco, New York)
* Christ Presented to the People (Il Sodoma)
* Christ with a Staff
* Claes Duyst van Voorhout
* Cloudy Mountains
* Coast Guard Station, Two Lights, Maine
* Coast Scene, Isles of Shoals
* The Collector of Prints (Edgar Degas)
* Comtesse de la Châtre
* Captain George K. H. Coussmaker
* Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue
* A Cowherd at Valhermeil, Auvers-sur-Oise
* Cows Crossing a Ford
* Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)
* Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych
* Crucifixion with the Virgin and St John
* The Cup of Tea
* Cypresses (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
* The Dance Class (Degas, Metropolitan Museum of Art)
* The Dancing Class
* The Dead Christ with Angels
* The Death of Harmonia
* The Death of Socrates
* The Defense of Champigny
* Delirious Hem
* The Denial of Saint Peter (Caravaggio)
* Diana and Cupid
* The Dream of Aeneas (Salvator Rosa)
* Dressing for the Carnival
* Madonna and Child (Duccio)
* Egyptian Woman with Earrings
* Egyptians Raising Water from the Nile
* The Empress Elizabeth of Russia on Horseback, Attended by a Page
* Entrance to a Dutch Port
* Equestrian Portrait of Cornelis and Michiel Pompe van Meerdervoort with Their Tutor and Coachman
* Esther before Ahasuerus (Artemisia Gentileschi)
* Ethel Scull 36 Times
* The Experts (painting)
* The Falls of Niagara
* The Farm at Les Collettes, Cagnes
* Femme Lisant
* Ferry near Gorinchem
* The Fingernail Test
* Fish Market (Joachim Beuckelaer)
* The Fishing Boat
* Fishing Boats, Key West
* The Five Points (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
* Florinda (painting)
* The Forest in Winter at Sunset (painting)
* The Fortune Teller (de La Tour)
* Fruit Dish and Glass
* The Funeral (painting)
* Fur Traders Descending the Missouri
* Garden at Sainte-Adresse
* George Washington (Trumbull)
* Gilbert Stuart (Goodridge)
* A Girl Asleep
* Girl with a Cat (Gwen John)
* Glass Blowers of Murano
* Golden Cock and Hen
* A Goldsmith in His Shop, Possibly Saint Eligius
* The Great Sirens
* The Gulf Stream (painting)
* Harlequin with a Guitar
* The Harvest, Pontoise
* The Harvesters (painting)
* Haystacks:Autumn
* Head of Christ (Rembrandt, New York)
* The Heart of the Andes
* The Hermit (Il solitario)
* The Horse Fair
* Houses on the Achterzaan
* I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold
* In a Courtyard, Tangier
* The Interior of an Atelier of a Woman Painter (Lemoine)
* Interior with a Young Couple and a Dog
* Irises screen
* Isaac Blessing Jacob (Gerbrand van den Eeckhout)
* Isle of the Dead (painting)
* Italian Hill Town (Arthur B. Davies)
* Jingo-ji Tripiṭaka
* Jo, the Beautiful Irishwoman
* Joy of Life (Valadon)
* Juan Legua
* July Fourteenth, Rue Daunou, 1910
* The Kearsarge at Boulogne
* The Lacemaker (Maes)
* Lachrymae (Frederic Leighton)
* Lady at the Tea Table
* Lady with the Rose (Charlotte Louise Burckhardt)
* Lake George (John Frederick Kensett)
* Landscape with Sky
* The Last Communion of Saint Jerome (Botticelli)
* Lehman Madonna
* Lilacs in a Window
* Lobster Fishermen (Marsden Hartley)
* The Lovesick Maiden
* Lukas Spielhausen
* Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly (Mary Cassatt)
* Madame Élisabeth de France
* Madame Grand
* Madonna and Child (Bellini, New York, 1485–1490)
* Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints (Raphael)
* Magdalene with Two Flames
* The Maidservant
* Maine Coast
* Majas on a Balcony
* Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zúñiga
* The Marriage of the Virgin (Michelino da Besozzo)
* The Martyrdom of Saint Barbara (Lucas Cranach the Elder)
* The Masquerade Dress
* The Matador Saluting
* Max Schmitt in a Single Scull
* Mérode Altarpiece
* Merry company with two men and two women
* Mezzetino (painting)
* The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (painting)
* Miss V Dressed as a Bullfighter
* Model by the Wicker Chair
* Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley
* Moonlight, Wood Island Light
* Morning, An Overcast Day, Rouen
* Moses Striking the Rock
* Mother and Child (Cassatt)
* Mountain Stream (John Singer Sargent)
* Mountain with Red House
* Movement No. 5, Provincetown Houses
* Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes
* Mrs. Atkinson (Gwen John)
* Mrs. Beckington (Alice Beckington)
* Mrs. Hugh Hammersley
* The Musician (Bartholomeus van der Helst painting)
* A Musician and His Daughter
* The Musicians (Caravaggio)
* Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine (Memling)
* Nativity scenes attributed to Zanobi Strozzi
* Night-Shining White
* Northeaster (painting)
* Nude Before a Mirror
* Oedipus and the Sphinx
* Old Trees, Level Distance
* Pity (William Blake)
* Portrait of Madame Jacques-Louis Leblanc
* Red Sunset on the Dnipro

Exhibitions|

* Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
* American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity
* AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion
* Before Yesterday We Could Fly
* Camp: Notes on Fashion
* China: Through the Looking Glass
* Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire
* Fashion and History: A Dialogue
* Glitter and Doom
* Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
* In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
* In America: An Anthology of Fashion
* Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years
* Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
* The Metropolitan Museum of Art Centennial
* The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion
* The Pictures Generation
* Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between
* Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion
* Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
* Te Maori
* Vessel Orchestra

Commons *  Category
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template