Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin
Still Life with a ray-fish, a basket of onions, eggs, cheese, a green jug and a copper pot, with a mortar and pestle on a stone ledge
Property from the Estate of Paul Kasmin
Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin
Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin
Still Life with a ray-fish, a basket of onions, eggs, cheese, a green jug and a copper pot, with a mortar and pestle on a stone ledge
Still Life with a ray-fish, a basket of onions, eggs, cheese, a green jug and a copper pot, with a mortar and pestle on a stone ledge
Property from the Estate of Paul Kasmin
Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin
Paris 1699 - 1779
Still Life with a ray-fish, a basket of onions, eggs, cheese, a green jug and a copper pot, with a mortar and pestle on a stone ledge
oil on canvas
canvas: 16 by 12 1/2 in.; 40.6 by 31.8 cm.
framed: 21 1/4 by 18 in.; 54 by 45.7 cm.
Overall this painting makes a good impression and is ready to hang as is. The painting has an old glue relining which is serviceable the surface of the picture is planar. The painting has retained the "powdery" effect of Chardin's paint application even with this lining and the details in the still life elements are well retained. Under UV: The painting has had some careful and considered touching almost entirely in the background, which appears to deal with the artist's technique of painting brown glazes over the background. These appear to be mostly to deal with areas where that was distracting. In the still life itself there is very little visible—a small touch along the edge of the egg furthest right, small touches in the copper pot, a touch in the pestle, and dots in the hanging meat. Offered in a modern, Regence style frame.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.
With P. & D. Colnaghi, London, 1986;
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 31 May 1991, lot 18 (with incorrect provenance);
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 14 January 1993, lot 101A (with incorrect provenance);
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 December 1996, lot 311;
With Amells Konsthandel, Stockholm;
By whom anonymously sold, New York, Sotheby's, 23 January 2003, lot 203A;
There purchased by the previous owner;
By whom sold, New York, Sotheby's, 5 June 2014, lot 48;
Where acquired by Paul Kasmin.
Chardin was perhaps the greatest still life painter of the eighteenth century, whose creativity and freedom of expression were nearly unmatched in the century. His popularity in his own lifetime is attested to by the numerous versions of his compositions which are extant. During the 1720s and 1730s Chardin developed more than twenty different still life compositions employing humble kitchen utensils. The greatest of these is the celebrated Ray-Fish of 1726-8, now in the Louvre, and the artist's reception piece for his admission into the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in September 1728. That Chardin chose to continue to execute this specific composition points to the artist's seeming great affinity for the subject. It is known in nine autograph versions, including those in the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh (signed and dated 1731); the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena; the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford; and the Dumbarton Oaks Museum.1
1. For a full list of the accepted versions, as well as a further discussion of the composition, see Literature, Rosenberg 1999, pp. 211-212.