Articles
Oil on canvas depicting an amusing genre scene: a young boy urinating in a chamber pot under the watchful eye of his mother, after the painting "The Chamber Pot" by Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin*, from the 19th century.
This painting is in good overall condition.
Please note: traces of restoration on the back, wear and tear, see photos.
is considered one of the greatest French and European painters of the 18th century. He is best known for his still lifes, genre paintings, and pastels.
Chardin loved depicting scenes from everyday life and servants, reviving the tradition of 17th-century Dutch painting. The French philosopher and art critic Denis Diderot had developed a passion for this painter, whose pictorial technique perfectly and subtly rendered the illusion of reality. Diderot called him a "magician," meaning that Chardin was not an artist of trompe-l'oeil (like François Boucher) but of truth. In 1740, Chardin met Louis XV, who supported him. The 1750s represented the peak of the artist's career, becoming advisor and treasurer of the Academy; he was granted the privilege of being housed at the Louvre. In charge of organizing the Salon, Chardin was appointed tapestry maker from 1761 to 1773, meaning he managed the hanging and presentation of the works. In the latter part of his life, the artist continued to paint still lifes but also devoted himself to portraiture, a genre he practiced in pastels. He suffered from serious vision problems related to the lead-based pigments he used for painting. Chardin died in Paris in 1779. (excerpt from Beaux-Arts)
