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On November 2, 1699, Jean-Baptiste Chardin was born in the Parisian quarter of Saint-Germain. His father was a woodcarver who performed complex artwork. Even as a child, Jean-Baptiste began to show a penchant for drawing and make his first successes.

Education

At the beginning of its creative path Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin worked in the studios of famous Parisian artists. First, he enrolled in the studio of Pierre Jacques Kaz, a painter completely forgotten in our days. There he made copies of paintings mainly on religious themes.

Then he became an apprentice to Noel Kuapel, a master of the historical genre in painting. It was there that he began to make the first serious strides in the depiction of various household items, when he added small details and accessories to the paintings of Coypel. He performed his work so accurately and scrupulously that in the end these details began to look much better than the whole picture. Coypel realized that a real master had grown from an apprentice.

First exhibition

In 1728, an exhibition of debutant artists took place on the Place Dauphin in Paris, where Jean-Baptiste Chardin decided to exhibit his paintings for the first time. Among them were Scat and Buffet, which were painted with such skill that they could easily be equated with the masters of the 17th century. Not surprisingly, they made a splash.

At that exhibition, he was noticed by one of the members of the Royal Academy of Arts. And in the same year, Chardin was nominated to the Academy as an artist depicting fruits and everyday scenes. It is curious that membership in the Academy could only be obtained by more mature and experienced masters, recognized by the society. And Chardin at that time was only 28 and he was practically unknown to the public.

Still lifes

In those days, still life was not popular and was in the category of the "lower" genre. The dominant positions were occupied by historical and mythological subjects. Despite this, Jean-Baptiste Chardin devoted most of his creative activity to still lifes. And he did it with such love for detail that he attracted more and more attention to this genre.

Chardin, like the best Dutch masters, in his still lifes was able to convey the charm of simple household items that surround any person. Be it jugs, pots, tubs, barrels for water, fruits and vegetables, sometimes, attributes of the arts and sciences. The master's still lifes are not distinguished by their splendor and abundance of things. All objects are modest and not striking, but perfectly and harmoniously combine with each other.

Painting technique and new subjects

Jean-Baptiste Chardin saw and perceived color in a special way. With many small strokes, he tried to convey all the subtle shades of the subject. Silvery and brown tones dominate his painting. The objects on his canvases are illuminated by rays of soft light.

A contemporary and compatriot of the painter, the philosopher-educator believed that the master possessed a special manner of writing. If you look at the painting of Chardin from a close distance, you can see only a chaotic mosaic of multi-colored strokes and strokes. He achieved the desired shades not just by mixing on the palette the colors you want... He applied paint to the canvas with small strokes of certain colors, which merged into a single whole, if you move away from the picture at a sufficient distance. The result was the optical effect of mixing colors, and the complex shade needed by the artist was formed. Thus, Chardin seemed to be weaving the canvas of a painting with a brush.

Diderot admired his ability to convey the materiality of objects with paint. He wrote enthusiastic lines about this: "Oh, Chardin, these are not white, black and red paints that you rub on a palette, but the very essence of objects; on the tip of your brush you take air and light and apply it to the canvas!"

In the thirties began new round in the works of Chardin. Continuing to follow the Dutch masters, he turns to genre painting. The artist began to depict the daily life of the French third estate, which included all groups of the population, except for the privileged. By that time, his paintings "The Lady Sealing the Letter", "The Laundress", "The Woman Cleaning Vegetables", "Returning from the Market", "The Hardworking Mother". These scenes are recognized as some of the best in genre painting.

Personal life

In 1731, the painter decides to marry Margarita Sentar, the merchant's daughter. First, they have a son, and then a daughter. The son later also becomes an artist, but the daughter suffers a tragic fate. At a young age, she dies along with Chardin's wife. It was a hard blow for the artist. In ten years he will marry again. This time on the widow of the bourgeoisie Françoise Marguerite Puget. They have a child who soon dies.

In parallel with all this, Chardin continues his creative activity... The artist is popular, he has many orders, engravings are made based on his works. And since 1737, paintings by Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin have been regularly exhibited in the Parisian Salons. He becomes an advisor and then is appointed her treasurer. Receives membership in the Rouen Academy of Sciences, fine arts and literature.

Poet of everyday life

Jean-Baptiste Chardin is deservedly called the poet of home life, calm comfort, warmth of family ties and home. The artist's favorite models were caring mothers, hardworking housewives, and playing children. For example, in the painting "Washerwoman" the figure of a woman is snatched from the general dark background and literally glows with warmth. This effect is achieved thanks to the play of light and shadow.

All the characters in his paintings are busy with their daily activities. Laundresses wash, mothers teach children, maids cook, peel vegetables, go grocery shopping, children blow bubbles. Some paintings show domestic cats. All the details of the works of Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin are imbued with love for the third estate. To his quiet and measured life, his worries and family values. The heroines of his paintings, despite their simple occupations, are distinguished by special grace and grace.

Last years

In the seventies, several more tragic events take place in the life of the already middle-aged Chardin. His son disappears, his financial situation deteriorates greatly, and the artist is forced to sell his house. Long-term illness and old age also made themselves felt. Chardin decides to step down as Treasurer of the Academy.

In recent years, the master has been devoting particular attention to two portraits painted in this technique - "Self-portrait with a green visor" and "Portrait of a wife".

Despite the artist's illness and age, recent portraits the firmness of the hand and ease of movement are felt. Dynamic light and natural colors bring liveliness to the work.

Invaluable contribution

The work of the French artist greatly influenced the development European art... Thanks to Jean-Baptiste Chardin's still lifes, the genre itself from unpopular and underestimated has become one of the leading. His everyday scenes were distinguished by realism, warmth and comfort. That is why they were so popular with the common people. Among Chardin's contemporaries, there was no woman who did not recognize herself, her life, her children on his canvases. Home lyrics and spontaneity, praised by Chardin, found a response in the hearts of the public.

No painter before him could boast of such a skillful ability to apply chiaroscuro. The light on the master's canvases is felt almost physically. It seems that by raising your hands to them, you can feel the warmth. Denis Diderot spoke about his works like this: "You don't know which picture to stop your eyes on, which one to choose! They are all perfect!"

Chardin was also a skilled colorist. He could notice and fix all reflexes that were barely perceptible to the human eye. His friends called it nothing less than magic.

Biography of Jean-Baptiste Chardin is very rich and tragic at the same time. Received the recognition of compatriots during his lifetime, in old age he lived practically in poverty. It's hard to believe, but the artist never left the borders of his native Paris.

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Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin(1679-1779), one of the greatest painters of the 18th century, was born in Paris to a family of artisans. Almost no information has been preserved about the early period of his work. It is known that in 1724 he entered the Academy of St. Luke. In 1728 he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in a very unusual way -

Buffet
Scat (fr. La raie), 1728, Louvre

two of his works, shown at the exhibition of young artists, were noted by members of the Academy, and a previously unknown master was invited to join it. Chardin became a member of the Academy in the class of "animals, fruits and flowers" - the lowest in the hierarchy of genres of that era.

The son of a Parisian artisan carpenter, he was trained by academic painters, but very soon he broke with their method of work - according to the models of other masters and according to the imagination. To this method, he contrasted work from nature and its close study - a principle to which he remained faithful throughout his life. In 1728, Chardin drew attention to himself with two still lifes (“ Skat "and" Buffet " , Paris, Louvre), exhibited in the open-air Place Dauphin, where once a year young artists could show their paintings. The success that fell to his lot, allowing him to submit his work to the Academy. Here his still lifes received unanimous recognition, and Chardin was elected to the number of academicians.

In 1731, under the leadership of Van Loo, Chardin took part in the restoration of frescoes in the gallery of Francis I in the Château de Fontainebleau, which laid the foundation for the famous school of Fontainebleau. Starting with still lifes, after 1733 he also turned to genre scenes. His contemporaries saw in him an artist devoid of imagination, who, once having built a certain compositional structure, then returns to it many times. In 1740 Chardin was presented to King Louis XV at Versailles and presented to him two of his paintings.

In the 50s and 60s, Chardin became a popular artist, whose still lifes and genre scenes are in demand and sell well, but by the end of this period, a turning point comes in his life. The public, following the changes in taste and fashion of the era, loses interest in his works. In his personal life there is a drama. The only son, Pierre-Jean, a very talented and promising young artist who won the Grand Prix at the Royal Academy, commits suicide in Venice in 1767.

The period of oblivion lasts until the middle of the 19th century, when critics and collectors rediscover Chardin's paintings. Then it becomes obvious

that he was the best master still life and not only for its time, but its genre scenes are full of poetry, lyricism and truth of life. At the same time, the perfect quality of his painting technique is revealed, which he achieved in the process of slow, painful, meticulous work and alterations. The artist himself discovered the secret of his great skill when he once said: "We use paints, but we write with feelings."

Still life was Chardin's favorite genre. This genre came into vogue in the 18th century under the influence of the Dutch, whose fascination echoed with the craving for simplicity and naturalness that was outlined in literature. But in their still lifes, French masters usually did not start from realistic foundations. dutch art,. but from its decorative elements. Chardin contrasted this decorative still life with his simple, unassuming paintings, devoid of any effects. Op painted earthenware jugs, bottles, glasses, simple kitchen utensils surrounded by fruits and vegetables, sometimes fish or killed game. But in these simple objects, he discovered an amazing wealth of colorful shades, expressing with extraordinary power the material qualities of things.

With amazing subtlety, the artist conveys the brilliance of polished copper ( "Copper tank" , 1730s), matte surface of peaches ( "Basket with peaches" ... 1768), the rich splendor of a brioche ( "Dessert" , 1763, all - Paris, Louvre). The compositions of these small paintings are subject to strict logic. With an impeccable sense of rhythm, Chardin organizes the classically balanced and harmonious structure of his canvases ( "Still life with the attributes of the arts" (preview) , 1760s, Moscow, State Museum fine arts named after A.S. Pushkin). A well-thought-out ratio of objects with particular completeness reveals them characteristics, expressiveness of form, beauty of color, the most complex shades of which the artist fixes with small quivering strokes. They create the feeling of a play of light on the surface of objects, combine them with

the environment. These merits of Chardin's painting were immediately appreciated by Diderot, who considered him "the first colorist of the Salon and, perhaps, one of the first colorists in painting." “... How the air moves around these objects,” exclaims Diderot, “that's who understands the harmony of colors and reflexes”.

Chardin's genre paintings are just as original and perfect. They are devoted to depicting simple scenes of the life of the French third estate - the petty bourgeoisie and working people. Chardin himself emerged from this environment and did not break the connection with her until the end of his days. For the first time in the art of the 18th century, such motifs of everyday life are in the center of the artist's attention. The plots of Chardin's genre paintings are devoid of drama or narrative. In most cases, this is an image of a peaceful, unhurried home life: a mother with children reading a prayer before a modest meal ( "Prayer before dinner" , 1744, State Hermitage); a washerwoman washing clothes, and a child perched near the tub blowing soap bubbles ( "Laundress" , State Hermitage), a boy diligently folding a house of cards ( "House of cards" , Paris, Louvre) - these are the typical plots of the master's paintings. Their naturalness and simplicity are in stark contrast to the mannerism and cunning of Boucher's genre scenes. Chardin's works are completely devoid of literary and didactic tendencies, as well as sentimentality,

inherent in similar paintings by most of his contemporaries. But just as Chardin discovered the beauty of simple kitchen utensils in his still lifes, he was able to discover a whole world of sublime and pure human feelings in modest everyday domestic scenes that acquire genuine poetry and moral significance in his paintings. Lyrical penetration (“They use colors, but write with feeling,” said Chardin) is combined in them with the artistry of performance and the grace of style that is characteristic of all art of that time. Like still lifes, Chardin's genre paintings are written in a soft and generalized manner, and their color, devoid of brightness, is built on the subtlest harmonies of refined tones.

In French art 18th century Chardin was also one of the creators of the realistic portrait. His works in this genre are completely alien to decorative effects, ostentatious poses that distinguish the portraits of court artists. They are simple in composition, restrained in color. Excluding any idealization, truthful and accurate in characteristics, Chardin at the same time always emphasizes the moral worth of his models. The assertion of the value of the human person, so characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment, underlies these seemingly unassuming works of the artist. Among the best portraits of Chardin are his self-portraits and a portrait of his wife, made in pastels (1770s, Paris, Louvre).

Chardin's realistic art immediately received support from the forefront art criticism... However, in the second half of the century, when art was required to become, as Diderot put it, "a school of morals, a mute orator who instructs us in virtues and lofty deeds," Chardin's works no longer satisfied new criticism in all respects. Now those artists, in whose work didactic features emerged, began to enjoy particular success.

House of cards

House of cards. Around 1736-1737. National Gallery, London

Chardin depicts a boy, the son of his friend Lenoir, a cabinetmaker, building a house on a table from playing cards... The table on which the child is leaning takes the central place in the composition and allows the artist to introduce a magnificently painted still life into the space of the picture. It begins unexpectedly and in an original way with a half-open box in the foreground.

The picture combines two genres - scene Everyday life and still life. The composition is constructed in an extremely laconic and simple manner. The artist depicts everyday objects with such attention and love that it seems his main task is to show the viewer how beautiful they are in their simplicity. But in fact, behind this unassuming episode of child's play lies a deeper

meaning. In fact, we have before us a moral allegory, symbolizing the futility of human efforts, which death destroys as easily as a child destroys his house of cards with just a movement of his hand or a breath.

However, the interpretation of the topic vanitas here is different from that which was characteristic of painting XVII century, who had a special fondness for her. If the artists of the last century turned to such motives as a skull or a cemetery and especially emphasized the dramatic beginning, now the eternal question about the meaning of human life, its transience and frailty has been transformed into a simple event devoid of tragic pathos. But this did not make him sound less poignant.

The rigor of the composition, in which there is nothing superfluous, corresponds to the almost monochrome color, devoid of external effects. But, remaining almost exclusively within the brown-ocher colors, the artist saturates the canvas with an unexpected pictorial richness of various tonal nuances and a warm, slightly reddish light that colors emit.

Along with "House of Cards", Chardin uses another plot of this kind to create a moral allegory on the theme vanitas – "Bubble" ... And here the motive of children's play turns into a symbol of the transience and frailty of human life. The artist depicts a boy bending over a windowsill and blowing bubbles into the street. On the right, a kid in a funny cap is reaching out to look at them. A beautiful still life is depicted next to the children.

Self-portrait, executed in the pastel technique, together with two other works, was exhibited at the Salon of 1771. By this time it was known that the master's health had deteriorated and he was not able to work any longer. However, the things Chardin showed at this exhibition - real masterpieces in terms of quality - caused a sensation. The self-portrait was painted on blue-gray paper, which gives additional, very rich coloristic effects.

Self-portrait, 1775

Self-Portrait with Green Visor, 1775, Louvre

In French art, the second half of XVIII century, a powerful development received a democratic direction and its most significant artist was Chardin. Together with these new heroes for art, images of simple everyday things surrounding a person appeared in painting: household items - kitchen and tableware; food supplies - game, vegetables and fruits; as well as objects used by people of intellectual and artistic labor - architects, artists, musicians, scientists.

Still life was Chardin's favorite genre. With his work, the artist established it in French art as an independent type of painting. Usually the set of objects in Chardin's still lifes is small, but the artist thinks deeply about their combination and arrangement, subtly reveals their connection with the person who uses them. "Still life with attributes of art" is to some extent "autobiographical": on a long table there are depicted things related to the artist's work. This is a plaster cast of the head of the god Mercury, several books, scrolls of sheets with engravings, a drawing pen, a protractor. Their disposition is at ease and free, but there is a strict pattern and harmony in it. Noting the coloristic gift of Chardin, Diderot wrote: “Oh, Chardin! You rub not white, red and black paints on your palette: you take the very matter, the very air and the very light on the tip of your brush and put it on the canvas. " The still life is painted in light, light colors with a striking feeling of the finest shades of color. Standing out against a light background, the white head of Mercury brings a solemn note, lifts the world of objects above the ordinary, giving it a proud and sublime sound.

Born with symbolic precision in the last year of the outgoing "great century", Chardin began his journey as an apprentice who painted accessories in hunting scenes. But long before his death, which came to him at the age of eighty, Chardin won universal respect as an artist-philosopher - unthinkable among painters of the 18th century. Chardin's posthumous glory surpassed his lifetime. In the 19th century, still life, which, thanks to him, became a genre of paramount importance, continued to be a form of creativity, full of deep thought, contrary to its usual purpose - to remain just painting as such. Chardin's still lifes immediately come to mind when we look at the large still lifes of Cézanne, painted by him - a significant coincidence - also in the last year of the outgoing century, in 1899. These still lifes laid a key position in the main setting of 20th century art - overcoming illusion, any illusion as such. Only after this, the impact of the potential contained in the art of Chardin can be considered exhausted.

Painting by Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin "The Young Teacher".
The plot of the picture is simple: a young girl teaches a child to read. Painted very truthfully, with directness and spontaneity, the picture will convey that inextricable emotional connection that unites both figures. The background is treated in a generalized way, without any particular details; densely and evenly applied strokes create an impression of depth and stability. it silent picture, by the feeling of endless time, it is similar to the work of Jan Vermeer. Only the image of the key in one of the drawers of the table breaks the magical atmosphere of serenity and peace. Chardin was the leading master of genre painting and still life in 18th century France. His simple compositions, devoid of sentimentality, are distinguished by the depth of feeling, the calm, thoughtful color scale testifies to an acute observation and understanding of form. In our century, Chardin's work has regained popularity, thanks to the almost abstract nature of the interpretation of forms. Many consider him the greatest master of genre painting of his time. A series of genre images by Chardin, dedicated to the theme of female industriousness, and another, parallel to it, a series that tells about a life spent in entertainment, be it teenagers from noble families or their grandmothers, are one and the same reality, revealed in different forms. So, for example, in the picture that Chardin called "The Delivery Girl", a woman returns from the market, loaded more than she should, and stops for a minute to rest in the corridor between the living room and the kitchen, a little pensive and sad; together with her we seem to pause and calmly wait, and during this minute we have time to think about what we are looking at. Imbued with sympathy for this image, we come closer and peer into the picture. Before us is a grainy layer of paint, and this velvety color is both the real matter of life and a kind of ignition of light that softly envelops the entire depicted environment. Color is all-encompassing, and that says it all. Another room opens through the doorway - the kitchen, and there, in the cool gray mosaic of spatial transitions, we see the maid with her special habits and slender posture, a copper vat for drinking water and further - another wall. Before us is both space itself and a certain scheme of spatial zones; color, which acts as the material medium of painting, again finds itself in the role of a mediator between the means of art and life itself.

And at seventy-six years old, Chardin's sense of himself and his craft was both cheerful and modest; his skill remained unchanged, but at the same time it seemed to be hiding in the shadows. Cezanne's statement (dated June 27, 1904) regarding the freedom with which Chardin used planes to depict the nose may not be immediately understood, but it well reveals the closeness of the creative attitudes of these two masters. It may be objected that we approach Chardin as a contemporary artist, but let us quote his contemporary, the philosopher Denis Diderot, who described the painting "Brioche" (Dessert) in this way: “This is a man who is really a painter; he is a true colorist .... This kind of magic is beyond comprehension. On the surface, one can see numerous layers of color laid one on top of the other, and their spatial effect comes from the depths ... "
Such a deep understanding of artistic processes that Diderot demonstrates is unique in itself. He caught the moment of exhaustion of style, when the latter took the wrong direction and lost the clarity of expression. Diderot also keenly understood that Chardin's position "between nature and art", despite its popularity in the circles of artists, had not yet been appreciated in all its possibilities. Diderot foresaw that it is true philosophical meaning creativity Chardin is still waiting to be discovered: his deepest values ​​belonged to the future of painting.

Few of the artists will remember that he loved everything around him as Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin... His passionate admirer, the French philosopher Denis Diderot, spoke about the skill of this painter:

“Oh, Chardin, this is not the white, red and black colors that you rub on your palette, but the very essence of objects; you take air and light at the tip of your brush and apply them to the canvas! "

It is said that Chardin never left Paris. He was born in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter in 1699, and lived here until his death.

The ability to paint led Chardin to the workshop of Noel Coypel, where he performed all kinds of small art work: helped the master to depict details, accessories, background on canvases. But this helped Chardin learn to notice little things and draw a wide variety of objects. Therefore, it is not surprising that he was attracted by the genre of still life.

Chardin began with a picture of vegetables, fruits, fruits and various household items. And he did it so skillfully that some of his works were even mistaken for the canvases of prominent Dutch still life masters. But this did not flatter the young artist, and he continued to improve his skills.

Glory came to Chardin in 1728 after the "Exhibition of Debutants", which was held in Paris on the Place Dauphin. He presented a series of his canvases, among which was the still life "Scat". The detailed carcass of an inhabitant of the deep sea suspended above the table is so impressive that you can smell the gutted fish. And this is the pinnacle of the still life's talent.

An honorary member of the French Academy of Painting and Nicolas de Largillière could not pass by the picture. Later, it was on his recommendation that Chardin also became a member of the Academy.

The artist did not limit himself to still life. He liked a quiet life and life ordinary people, so he gradually came to the genre of genre. These works were distinguished by a simple and cozy content, but they retained a craving for small details and accessories from a still life. Painting the everyday life of the third estate in soft, expressive colors and a realistic manner, Chardin, without knowing it, contributed to the birth of a new trend in art.

To capture a real moment from life - this task Chardin tried to fulfill in his work. One of his most famous paintings"Prayer before dinner" is not full of bright colors, but at the same time it radiates kindness and peace.

It depicts a frequent plot of that time: a mother seats her daughters who are playing at the table and makes sure that the ruddy girls read a prayer. The plot unfolds within a small room. By its decoration, we understand that this is a family of average income. White colors emphasize the spiritual purity of the family and the innocence of girls. And soft brown shades add warmth to this small Parisian home.

In the painting "Boy with Whirligig" Chardin showed the liveliness of a young character. The boy looked up from boring textbooks to play with the whirligig - the details in the picture tell us about this. The child's face is full of lively interest in what is happening, and the play of light and his lively facial expressions give the canvas spontaneity and truthfulness.

At a later stage in his work, Chardin proved himself to be an amazing portrait painter. The faces of his characters almost always look dignified and peaceful. Chardin was able to convey this confidence and calmness to the audience. And it was very valuable, because it was precisely peace and stability that the inhabitants of France lacked in late XVIII century.

The artist himself was a living example of a harmonious existence with the environment, which is clearly reflected in his self-portrait. On it we see: a man in a headscarf who calmly looks through his pince-nez at the viewer. In his gaze is the wisdom acquired for long years creativity.

Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (born November 2, 1699, Paris, France; died December 6, 1779 in Paris), French artist still lifes and home genre scenes, distinguished by their intimate realism, calm atmosphere and bright quality of their paint. For his still lifes, he chose modest objects ("Buffet", 1728), and for genre paintings, modest events were a frequent subject ("A woman writes a letter", 1733). He also performed beautiful portraits, especially in pastels.

His name was traditionally considered to be Jean-Baptiste-Simeon, but "Baptiste" appears to have been a scribe's mistake and Jean-Simeon is now the accepted form.

Born in Paris, Chardin never left his hometown of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Little is known of his training, although he worked for a time with the artists Pierre-Jacques Cazes and Noel-Nicolas Coypel. In 1724 he was admitted to the Academy of Saint Luke. However, his true career began in 1728, when, thanks to the portrait of Nicolas Largillera (1656-1746), he became a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, upon entering which he presented his paintings "Scat" (c. 1725) and "Buffet" (1728).

"Scat" by Chardin's standards is an unusually bright work: the gutted fish has a strange " human face"Twisted in an eerie grimace and her raw flesh is depicted with the help of virtuoso craftsmanship. For the rest of his life, Chardin was a devoted member of the Academy - he diligently attended all meetings and served as treasurer for almost twenty years (1755-74), he approached these duties most strictly and honestly, for which he had an exemplary reputation.

In 1731 Chardin married Marguerite Sendard, and two years later he published the first of his paintings, "A Woman Writing a Letter." Since then, Chardin has chosen the subjects of his paintings "la vie silencieuse" ("quiet life") or scenes family life such as Saying Grace and drawings of young men and women concentrating on their work or play. The artist often repeated his subjects and there are often several original versions of the same painting. Chardin's wife died in 1735, and an inventory of property drawn up after her death shows a certain wealth. It is assumed that by this time Chardin had already become a successful artist.

In 1740, Jean-Simeon was introduced to Louis XV and peaked in respect in the 1750s when Louis XV granted him an annual allowance (1752) and a place in the Louvre to live and work. Despite royal favors, he led a life of unparalleled devotion to his art: apart from short visits to Versailles and Fontainebleau, he never left Paris.

Four years later, he married Margarita Pouzh, whom he immortalized 30 years later by painting her portrait in pastels. These were the years when Chardin was at the height of his fame. For example, Louis XV paid him 1,500 livres for the Lady with the Organ and the Birds. Chardin continued to climb steadily up the rungs of the traditional academic career. His colleagues at the academy, first unofficially (1755) and then officially (1761), chose him to curate the hanging of paintings at the Salon (official exhibition of the Royal Academy), which was held regularly, every two years from 1737 and in which Chardin participated very faithfully. It was in the performance of his official duties that he met the encyclopedist and philosopher Denis Diderot, who dedicated some of his best pages art criticism to Chardin, the "great wizard" whom he admired so much.

Jean-Simeon Chardin was closer to the sense of meditative silence that revives the village scenes of the 17th century French master Louis Le Nain than to the spirit of light and superficial brilliance seen in the work of many of his contemporaries. His carefully constructed still lifes do not stick out with appetizing products, but are remembered by the objects themselves and the processing of light. In his genre scenes, he does not look for his models among the peasantry, as his predecessors did. He writes the petty bourgeoisie of Paris. But the manners are relaxed, and his models seem to be far from the harsh peasants of Le Nain. Chardin's mistresses are simply but neatly dressed and the same cleanliness is visible in the houses where they live. Everywhere, some kind of closeness and kind communication make up the charm of these modest pictures of everyday life, which are akin to the sensual mood and format of Jan Vermeer's works.

Despite the triumphs of his early and adulthood, last years Chardin has been clouded in both his personal life and his career. His only son, Pierre-Jean, who won the Grand Prix (prize for studying art in Rome) from the Academy in 1754, committed suicide in Venice in 1767. And then taste preferences began to change in Parisian society. The new director of the Academy, the influential Jean-Baptiste-Marie Pierre, in his quest to establish historical painting in the first place, humiliated the old artist, reducing his pension and gradually depriving him of his duties at the Academy. In addition, Chardin's eyesight deteriorated. He tried to paint with pastels. It was a new remedy for him and less strain on his eyes. Chardin's pastels, most of which are in the Louvre, are highly prized now, but not very appreciated at the time. In fact, he lived the last period of his life in almost complete obscurity, and his later works were received with indifference.

It was only in the middle of the 19th century that it was rediscovered by a handful of French critics, including the brothers Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, and also highly regarded by collectors (for example, the Lavayard brothers, who donated their Chardin collection to the Picardy Museum in Amiens). The Louvre made the first acquisitions of his work in the 1860s. Today Chardin is considered greatest artist still life of the 18th century, and his canvases take pride of place in the most prominent museums and collections in the world.