# The White Tablecloth

**Jean Siméon Chardin** (French, 1699–1779)  
c. 1731–32  
Oil on canvas  
96.8 × 123.5 cm (38 1/8 × 48 5/16 in.); Framed: 126.7 × 154.4 × 14 cm (49 7/8 × 60 3/4 × 5 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1944.699. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/51577).

## 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._

Jean Siméon Chardin painted this in about 1731–32, aged about 32. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### 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](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/jean-simeon-chardin)

French, 1699–1779; born in Paris; 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._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France
- The artist was about 32
- Real size: about 38 × 48 in (96 × 123 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 30 × 40 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: still life, interior, homes, domestic, Bread, glasses, knife, plates
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/163.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/163/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-white-tablecloth-aic-51577).