Kitchen Utensils with Leeks, Fish, and Eggs

The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Kitchen Utensils with Leeks, Fish, and Eggs as painting (France · c. 1734).

WHY IT’S INTERESTING

Chardin was already famous by 1730, when he began to paint small, sparse still lifes of kitchen utensils. He often used the same elements in his compositions, varying slightly the position of the objects and adding or subtracting a utensil—always carefully placing each in relation to the rest to achieve a balanced desi

SERENDIPITYA little unexpected

FamiliarWeird

A CLOSER LOOK

The museum identifies this painting as oil on canvas and credits Jean-Siméon Chardin (French, 1699–1779).

The museum's collection notes: Chardin was already famous by 1730, when he began to paint small, sparse still lifes of kitchen utensils. He often used the same elements in his compositions, varying slightly the position of the objects and adding or subtracting a utensil—always carefully placing each in relation to the rest to achieve a balanced design. Chardin was the contemporary of François Boucher (1703–1770) and he taught Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), but his work is a contrast to theirs, representing the naturalistic tendency that persisted alongside the more fashionable lightness, grace, and playfulness of the Rococo. Chardin discovered a hidden poetry in even t

FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE

The Cleveland Museum of ArtKitchen Utensils with Leeks, Fish, and Eggs

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