The Father's Curse is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze, created in 1777.

Based on Diderot's account of the 1761 Salon,[2] the work depicts the dramatic scene of a son who is announcing to his family that he is leaving to join the army.

The other members of the family present, three women and two children, presumably his mother and his four siblings, illustrate the ongoing drama.

The other characters seem to be trying to convince, with dramatic gestures and actions, the young son not to leave home.

One of the women begs him with her hands joined, while one of the children grabs the youngster, in an futile attempt to stop him to leave.