_J. B. S. Chardin_ (French: 1699-1779).
Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin was the contemporary of Boucher
(1090), and his pictures may serve to remind us that there was
a _bourgeoisie_ in France as well as a _noblesse_ when Louis
XV. was king. The simple subject of this picture--a loaf of
brown bread, with a bottle of wine, spread out on a piece of
old newspaper--takes us far away from the luxurious trifling
of the Court painters. Chardin followed the path of frank
realism, treating, however, all his subjects with refinement.
To Dutch precision he added Gallic grace. He painted either
still life (as here) or scenes from the domestic life of the
people (as in 1664, and in a picture in the Dulwich Gallery).
His treatment was devoid of affectation, and his colouring
fresh and agreeable. "He is the best colourist in the Salon,"
said Diderot of him in his lifetime. Chardin, in the exercise
of his honest industry, knew how difficult it was to excel,
and said on one occasion to Diderot and the other critics,
"Gently, good sirs, gently! Out of all the pictures that are
here seek the very worst; and know that two thousand unhappy
wretches have bitten their brushes in two with their teeth, in
despair of ever doing even so badly." Chardin's fellow-workers
appreciated his merits, and he was elected a member of the
Academy in 1728, becoming Treasurer of that body in 1755. There
is a large collection of his works in the Louvre. They fell
into disrepute during the succeeding reign of David and the
"classical" school, but they have again won a high position
in the estimation of those who know. This picture (which is
signed, and dated 1754) was presented to the Gallery; for No.
1664, purchased in 1898, the sum of £721 was paid.
Chardin's pictures show that instinctive "power of reticence" which is
one of the secrets of fine art. "It is what gives value to such humble
efforts as the study of still-life subjects, and raises them--as in
the works of the French painters, Chardin especially, and of some of
the Dutch painters--above the level of mere mechanical imitations,
and transforms them into works capable of giving us real pleasure"
(Poynter's _Lectures on Art_, p. 195).