Jean-Simeon Chardin
Still life and domestic scenes — the quiet master
The anti-Rococo. While Boucher painted goddesses and Fragonard painted swings, Chardin painted kitchen tables, copper pots, and children saying grace — with a gravity and tenderness that Diderot compared to nature itself. Proust loved him; Cezanne studied him.
Key works
- The Ray1728— A skinned ray — still life as shock and beautyLouvre, Paris
- Saying Grace1740— Domestic life elevated to the sacredLouvre, Paris