Page 20 - G19C Opening Catalogue

Jules Breton

THE TURKEY TENDER, 1864

A significant example of Jules Breton’s mature aesthetic, this
painting was conceived at a moment when the artist confessed,
“I was no longer dreaming of anything but the grand style. I was
wondering if the rustic genre could lead me to it.” This “grand
style” was of course inherited from the Academic tradition, but
here infused with the principles of realism to effect something
modern. Against the blue tonal sky of late afternoon and the faintest
indication of the Mediterranean Sea, a statuesque young woman sits
atop a rock. Her pose is relaxed, as her arms rest against her thighs
and her staff held between two fingers has slipped to the ground.
The very weight of her body, evident under folds of clothing, is a
contrast to her fine features seen in profile and outlined in a version
of the brownish pink of her headscarf. The expression is pensive, or
even melancholy, recalling images of symbolic figures representing
those sentiments. The low vantage point positions the viewer to
look up at her against the horizon line. Casting a rustic figure into
an established classical mold, Breton created a compelling archetype
of the noble peasant woman that appears simultaneously realistic
and idealized.

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