A selection of still life oil paintings by Jean Siméon Chardin that demonstrates how a painter through the means of composition, light, and shadow, can create compelling complex images featuring ordinary objects. The objects have a presence that makes them seem alive, as if presented on a stage in the best possible way. It is said that Chardin painted very slowly and that a painting took many months to complete, on average he painted four paintings per year. When looking at a Chardin painting it is as if one looks at common objects, such as fruits and household items, to discover them anew. However, the truth is that one isn't observing the objects themselves but rather the sensuous surface of the painting that seems to animate the objects with an inner glow. Through continuous repetition of similar compositions that feature ordinary objects without any specific narrative or symbolic meaning, he displays the visual, sensorial, and sculptural force of painting. It is also worth noting that his way of painting still life paintings challenged the set hierachy of genres within the artworld of the time. Still life paintings were considered the lowest form of painting. He clearly proved that it isn't what one paints that is important but how it is painted.
Jean Siméon Chardin, Still Life with a White Mug, 1764, held at the National Gallery in Washington, DC
https://www.nga.gov/collection...
For information, Edouard Manet, Paul Cèzanne, Henri Matisse, George Braque, Chaïm Soutine, and Giorgio Morandi studied and were influenced by Chardin's still lifes. Chardin’s paintings cast a spell also on persons that aren't artists, during his lifetime, noteworthy are the writings by Denis Diderot who numerous times attempted to describe their qualities. More recently, in the spring of 2022, a still life called "Basket of Strawberries" was sold at an art auction in Paris for 24 million Euros to Kimbell Art Museum in the US. However, the painting, upon the request by the Louvre, was named a national treasure and will most likely stay in France (if the museum can obtain the funds to purchase it).
Jean Siméon Chardin, Le panier de fraises des bois, 1761
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
When looking at a Chardin still life I’m trying to answer questions such as these: What kind of general composition is used? How does the light travel through the image? How are objects and shadows connected? Which edges are sharp, soft, or invisible? How does the "eye" (the viewer) enter the image? What is the main focus?
Even though the space is shallow, Chardin manages through the known means available to the painter, such as perspective, overlapping objects, value, chroma, light, and atmospheric perspective, to display a clear spatial order between objects, a hierachy, and a sense of atmosphere. Note the hidden geometry of the compositions, mostly pyramidal and L-shaped, and the simple shapes of the objects themselves. The light in the paintings is so natural that one expects to see the reflections and the shadows to move with time. The surface reveals that the painting technique was both controlled and loose and that a variety of brush strokes were used to obtain the desired effects. Could it be that the balanced combination of formal and informal qualities is the reason why Jean Siméon Chardin’s still life paintings are so alluring?
Below, please find a few links to podcasts, articles, reviews, and other information (more to come):
"Charles Pépin festoie avec Chardin et dévore La Raie" on https://www.franceinter.fr/emi... from @radiofrance. Podcast. A celebration of painting…(French)
Un panier de fraises Trésor National. Radio France. Podcast. (French)
https://www.radiofrance.fr/fra...
Louvre Bids to Keep a Chardin Bought by a US Museum in France
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/arts/design/louvre-kimbell-art-museum-chardin.html
Review of Chardin, Hyperallergic:
Goodrich, John.The Existential Experience of a Chardin Still Life. Hyperallergic,Oct 12, 2015. Web.https://hyperallergic.com/244140/the-existential-experience-of-a-chardin-still-life/
Review of Chardin, NY Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/arts/23iht-chardin23.html
Article about Diderot's reviews of Chardin's paintings (French):
Gasse-Houle, Magali. « Les natures mortes de Chardin : l’échec de l’écriture dans les Salons de Diderot. » Études françaises, volume 40, numéro 3, 2004, p. 151–165. https://doi.org/10.7202/009741ar
Chardin at the Louvre:
https://collections.louvre.fr/...