The Angry Wife
ca. 1785
Jean-Baptiste Greuze was the 18th-century master of domestic soap operas, and this chaotic scene captures a household in total meltdown. On the right, a furious woman smashes a jug against the doorframe, her hair wild and expression fierce, while the rest of the family reacts in sheer panic. To the left, a guilty-looking man is clung to by two distressed women, while another figure prays desperately at the table amidst the rising steam of a ruined meal. Even the family dog is joining the fray, barking at an overturned chair. Greuze was famous for these moralizing tales that looked like frozen moments of high drama, designed to teach viewers about the consequences of a bad temper and family strife.
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