I’ve been poring over an old issue of the Connaissance des Arts devoted to an exhibition of the work of Charles Siméon Chardin, 1699 – 1779, held at the Grand Palais, Paris, in 1999. I knew that he was considered marginal by the Rococo standards of his day; that he flouted the codes of the Académie by painting in earth tones still lifes featuring household objects not thought worthy of attention, servants caught in moments of reverie while washing clothes or peeling an onion, simple arrested gestures in the lives of women, girls and children; in preference to idyllic landscapes with numphs and shepherds or huge canvases of literary or historical subjects, or elegant scenes of court life. But I did not know – and was glad to discover – that he was largely self-educated; that he showed little promise to begin with; that he was poor at drawing; that he was always a slow worker.
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Just finding your blog; I'm thoroughly enjoying your banter which is not only clever but colorful and informative to boot, as well as your nice varied paintings.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll see if I can get an entry done for Alice's collection project myself. Yours inspired me.