The Happy Household – engraving after Greuze – 51 × 45 cm

Antique engraving titled L’Heureux Ménage (The Happy Household), interpreting a composition by Jean-Baptiste Greuze dedicated to family life.

The scene shows a man carrying a rifle returning to a household gathered around a mother and her children. The black and brown treatment, the richness of the details, and the verse text arranged below the image are characteristic of the narrative and moralizing engravings popular at the end of the 18th century. The title "HEUREUX MÉNAGE" and the credit "Greuze pinx." are visible in the lower margin.

The sheet could date from the late 18th or early 19th century. The inscriptions relating to the engraver and the publisher are not sufficiently legible on the framed piece to allow for a certain identification. It is presented under glass in a wooden frame enhanced with a gilded molding.

• Overall height: 45 cm
• Overall width: 51 cm
• Depth: 1 cm
• Visible dimensions: 48 × 39 cm

Fair antique condition. The paper shows generalized browning, a significant vertical tear in the central part, as well as marked creases and undulations in the lower margin. Some stains and signs of wear are also visible. The frame has slight scuffs.

A work with a distinct historical character, suitable for a cabinet of curiosities, a library, or a classic interior.