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Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin
1699-1779 France/Baroque
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Brief Biography-Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was from Paris, where he spent the entirety of his life. His father was a carpenter making billiard tables for the king. In 1717 Jean was apprenticed to court painter Pierre-Jacques Cazes and later Nicolas Coypel; neither artist inspired Jean; he mainly taught himself. By 1724 he became established as a still-life painter; however, he struggled to make a living. It was when he got a commission from a surgeon to paint a sign outside his shop that he gained recognition. The image was of a wounded man carried to the surgery, which caught the attention of people passing by. He exhibited paintings at an amateur show in the Place Dauphine in 1728 and drew the attention of Nicolas Largillière, who had him present his work to the Academy. The pictures he hung at the Academy impressed Largillière so much that he accepted him as a member.
He married his fiancée after a long engagement but was still struggling until he got work with Jean-Baptiste van Loo restoring the Francis I Gallery at Fontainebleau. His wife died suddenly in 1735, after which he changed his attention to painting interior scenes which gained him popularity. Chardin had work commissioned by French and Swedish royalty. Unfortunately, he still was not making much money due to the slow delivery of his paintings. Nevertheless, his fortunes picked up financially when he married a wealthy widow, Francoise Marguerite Pouget. In 1755, he was elected treasurer of the Academy. Louis XV bought his work and awarded him a pension and lodgings in the Louvre.
He had a troubled relationship with his son, whom he quarrelled with over money his mother had left him, and Jean contested. His son left for Rome, never to return, and speculation was that he committed suicide in Venice, which distressed Jean considerably. Later his health failed, and his work became less popular, followed by reduced income. He used pastels with failing eyesight in the final years of his life. His work did not regain popularity until a century later. |
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the jar of apricots

the cut melon

the basket of wild
strawberries

card
tricks

Draughtsman

Vase
of Flowers

First
Wife

The
Governess

Servant
Returning

Saying
Grace

Pestle
and Mortar

Kitchen
Still Life

Grapes and
Pomegranates

Girl with a
Shuttlecock

Cake

the cellar boy

Drinking
Fountain

The Diligent
Mother

Child with
a Teetotum

A Lean Diet with
Cooking Utensils

Attributes
of Music

Hunting
Dog

House
of Cards

Madame
Chardin

Peaches with
Walnuts

Pears and
Walnuts

Sealing
the Letter

Self
Portrait

Cat
and Fish

Cat
and Rayfish

A
Pheasant

Jar
of Olives

Pipe
and Jug

Two
Rabbits

Attentive
Nurse

The Attributes
of Art

Painting
and-
Sculpture

Attributes
of Arts

The
Buffet

The
Canary

The House
of Cards

The Kitchen
Maid

The
Laundress

The
Ray

The
Silver Cup

The Silver
Tureen

The Soap
Bubble

the
Schoolmistress

Youth with
a Violin

Water Glass
and Jug

Young
Sketcher
