The White Tableclothc. 1731–32
A white cloth is thrown over a small table set with simple things, among them bread and a glass of wine, as if a meal has just been left. More about this work
About this work
A white cloth is thrown over a small table set with simple things, among them bread and a glass of wine, as if a meal has just been left. Chardin painted humble still lifes like this in the early 1730s, and his genius lay in making ordinary materials, linen, glass and crust, seem tangible through layered, granular paint and subtle reflections of light. The white of the tablecloth, built up in many tones, is the real subject.
Written by Ochre Editions.
What you’re looking at
A work made of oil on canvas.
Description from the Art Institute of Chicago.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Jean Siméon Chardin
French, 1699–1779 · Born and died in Paris.
Chardin spent his life in Paris and was received into the Academy in 1728 as a painter of animals and fruit. He found his subjects in modest kitchens and households, painting still lifes and quiet genre scenes such as Soap Bubbles and The House of Cards with grainy, carefully worked paint and an air of calm concentration. In later life, as his eyesight weakened, he turned to pastel, producing searching self-portraits.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Art Institute of Chicago has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1944.699
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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