Painting · Animals · Catalog HV6FS28V

Kitchen Utensils with Leeks, Fish, and Eggs

Jean-Siméon Chardin (French, 1699–1779) · c. 1734

Chardin was already famous by 1730, when he began to paint small, sparse still lifes of kitchen utensils. He often used the same elements in his compositions, varying slightly the position of the objects and adding or subtracting a utensil—always carefully placing each in relation to the rest to achieve a balanced design. Chardin was the contemporary of François Boucher (1703–1770) and he taught Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), but his work is a contrast to theirs, represen