French 18th Century Drawing

after Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699–1799)

Study of: Young Student Drawing 1738

A very charming French 18th century style drawing after Chardin, of a poor student in a work and tattered frock coat, drawing on the floor. It looks like a preparatory sketch for the well known oil-on-panel work in the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (see the last two images for the finished historical work) This would be a later student copy of a drawing or a direct study of the painting, unable to say which. It will look superb in the right framing.

Dimensions: 25 cm x 20 cm or 10" x 8" approx. Mat and frame are not included.
Uneven trim. Pencil on cream laid paper with no watermark.

"Jean Siméon Chardin is known as one of the greatest painters of still lifes in the history of art. Chardin earned esteem for his still lifes of game and kitchen scenes. He later expanded into genre painting, often featuring maidservants and children. Philoshoper and art critic Denis Diderot famously called Chardin “the great magician” in tribute to the artist’s seemingly effortless compositions whose humble subjects nonetheless invite poetic reveries."

Jean Siméon Chardin (French: 1699 – 1779) was an 18th-century French painter. He is considered a master of still life, and is also noted for his genre paintings which depict kitchen maids, children, and domestic activities. Carefully balanced composition, soft diffusion of light, and granular impasto characterize his work.