'The Scullery Maid' (1738) by Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin.
Chardin was a French painter, that unlike his peers who painted nobility and grand historical scenes, painted humble domestic scenes and still lifes, portraying poor servants and ordinary, rustic objects with accurate affection.
I love the stark design sense of this painting, the way the light-coloured maid jumps off the dark background. I love the thickness of the paint, and the texture of the girls clothes. I like the way her gaze is not on her work, and the drudgery and monotony of it, but is looking away- her mind is elsewhere.
Chardin was a master of depicting different textures, a perfect example being the tub laying on its' side. Look at it for a few moments, and you can imagine exactly what it would feel like to touch, and the sound it would make if you tapped it.
Chardin was a French painter, that unlike his peers who painted nobility and grand historical scenes, painted humble domestic scenes and still lifes, portraying poor servants and ordinary, rustic objects with accurate affection.
I love the stark design sense of this painting, the way the light-coloured maid jumps off the dark background. I love the thickness of the paint, and the texture of the girls clothes. I like the way her gaze is not on her work, and the drudgery and monotony of it, but is looking away- her mind is elsewhere.
Chardin was a master of depicting different textures, a perfect example being the tub laying on its' side. Look at it for a few moments, and you can imagine exactly what it would feel like to touch, and the sound it would make if you tapped it.
2 comments:
Hey mate I love this! Particularly find it interesting Chardin was interestd in painting the "ordinary" aspects of life, almost affirming them as being just as valuable as the nobility.
I'm going to disagree with you though. For me I'm not so sure her mind is elsewhere. Perhaps her mind is on her work, but like Chardin she appreciates the beauty in the ordinary, mundane things of life...
If only we could ask her:)
Hey mate, good to hear your thoughts. Glad you like it too.
I think most of the painters I like the most have that similar thread running through-- stopping to appreciate and see beauty in the mundane.
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