A Child with an Apple
- Artist: Jean-Baptiste Greuze
- Date: late 18th century
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "A Child with an Apple" by Jean-Baptiste Greuze. Painted in the late 18th century, it's a beautiful example of a genre painting that was quite popular during this time period.
Notice how the child is positioned right at the front of the picture, against a dark blank background. This creates a sense of immediacy and intimacy, drawing you straight into the scene. The child's gaze is incredibly intense - their blue eyes seem to be gazing right through us, with their slightly parted lips adding a hint of thoughtful melancholy.
The painting was quite profitable for Greuze because it didn't take him long to complete. These single heads were often done quickly but still managed to capture the subtlety and emotion of the child's face.
It's worth noting that we're not entirely sure if this is a boy or girl - the longish hair, delicate rosy cheeks, and full red lips suggest it might be a girl, but some details are ambiguous. The painting was likely meant to represent a general type, rather than a specific individual.
The colours in the painting are lovely too - the blue and white of the child's clothing are complemented by the cushions behind them. Greuze built up the folds of the white cloth around the child's shoulders with vibrant brushstrokes, giving it a very textured feel. The paint layer is quite thin in some areas, especially on the child's face, which adds to the sense of immediacy and spontaneity.
It's interesting to compare this painting with others by Greuze, like "A Girl" - which has a more polished quality - or "Head of a Boy" from the Wallace Collection, which features the same model but depicted a few years later.
See it in person
A Child with an Apple hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
