Movement, Style, School or Type of Art:
Rococo
Date and Place of Birth:
November 2, 1699, Paris, France
Life:
Chardin may possibly have been the greatest still life painter to ever pick up a brush. Though of the Rococo era, there is little of its lighthearted gaiety in his work. Instead, Chardin's genre scenes depict the everyday life of middle-class France, while his still lifes are of commonplace objects. His (presumed; he kept it a secret) technique of slowly combining thick layers of paint with thin glazes to show light inspired van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse and Braque, among many others.
Important Works:
- The Copper Drinking Fountain, ca. 1734
- Return from the Market, 1739
- The Prayer Before Meal, 1744
- Still Life with Jar of Olives, 1760
Date and Place of Death:
December 6, 1779, Paris, France
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