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.