Jean-Siméon Chardin's The House of Cards

Abstract

Archives of Facial Plastic SurgeryVol. 6, No. 2 BeautyFree AccessJean-Siméon Chardin's The House of CardsLisa Duffy-ZeballosLisa Duffy-ZeballosInstitute of Fine Arts, New York University, New York, NYSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Mar 2004https://doi.org/10.1001/archfaci.6.2.144AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail The tranquil still lifes and domestic scenes of Jean-Siméon Chardin are among the most beloved and recognizable paintings of the 18th century. Chardin's reputation as a painter of genre and still life rests primarily upon the transformative power of his art. Although his humble subjects largely derive from 17th-century Dutch examples, Chardin's subtle treatment of his themes resonates as distinctly modern. Unlike the chatty, crowded tableaux popularized by his contemporaries, Chardin distills his narratives to their essential elements. In contrast to the noisy family dramas of Greuze and the elegantly crowded fêtes galantes of Watteau, Chardin's quiet genre paintings are inhabited by few figures, all of whom are immersed in their domestic activities and wholly unaware of the presence of the viewer.Chardin began his artistic training in the 1720s studying with several French history painters, including the great Academician Noël-Nicolas Coypel. Despite his early training, however, Chardin applied to the Académie Royale in 1728 as a painter of still life; his reception piece, The Ray, depicts a gutted rayfish suspended from a hook, its mouth mimicking a ghastly smile, above a ledge containing oysters, fish, and a diminutive cat. The Académie accepted Chardin as a painter of still life and animals, the lowest-ranking specialty of painting in its hierarchy of genres. For the next decade, Chardin established his reputation as a painter of food and game but rarely included live animals in his scenes. His decision was probably motivated by a desire to avoid competition with Jean-Baptiste Oudry and François Desportes, two of the most distinguished painters of hunting scenes in 18th-century France. Seeking to elevate his status within his profession and increase the marketability of his paintings, Chardin began painting genre scenes from the early 1730s until 1751. His genre scenes of the later 1730s often incorporate the moral cautionary lessons encountered in 17th-century Dutch painting. These were simple compositions that depicted the solitary subject half-length, in profile, and engaged in solitary activities. Chardin's Woman Sealing a Letter (Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin) dates from 1733 and is generally believed to have been the first of this type. The subject and composition of the painting, which depicts a seated woman three-quarter length in profile sealing a letter assisted by a standing servant, is reminiscent of Vermeer's Lady and Her Maid (National Gallery, Ireland) and The Love Letter (The Frick Collection).Chardin's genre scenes enjoyed popular acclaim when they were exhibited at the biannual Salon exhibitions of the 1730s, and this success may have prompted him to execute multiple copies of certain paintings. Chardin's most celebrated themes depict people at work or at play, and he often painted his scenes in pairs to illustrate the benefits of industry over idle pursuits. One of Chardin's most successful subjects was a youth building a house of cards, of which he executed 4 autograph versions. In the earliest, from a private collection in England, a young boy wearing a tricorn hat is shown in three-quarter profile facing a window at the left, while a second version from the Louvre depicts the boy half-length in right profile. The most accomplished versions, however, are the 2 canvases in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and the National Gallery, London, that depict the boy three-quarter length, his hair tied back in a bow and leaning over a table against a neutral background. The horizontal London painting shows the boy facing right, wearing a tricorn hat and frock coat, and constructing his house of cards on a green felt-topped card table.The House of Cards from the National Gallery of Art is similar to the London painting, but is executed in a cooler palette and is vertical in format. It shows the boy in left profile standing at a blue baize-covered gaming table. Unlike in the London painting, in which the boy constructs an actual house of cards, here he lines up a column of carefully folded cards resembling a row of dominoes. He is bareheaded and appears to wear an apron around his waist, which identifies him as a servant and thus alludes to the work he is neglecting by constructing a worthless house of cards. Moreover, the prominent placement of coins and gaming pieces in both the London and Washington paintings warn the viewer of the corruptive influence of cards.Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779). The House of Cards, circa 1735. Oil on canvas, 32⅜ × 26 in (82.2 × 66.0 cm). Andrew W. Mellon Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.The Washington painting contains the most obvious reference to a moralistic reading of this leitmotif. Here the jack of hearts protrudes from the table drawer, which is empty in the London painting. The theme of constructing houses of cards has traditionally been associated with the transience and vanity of human endeavor. However, the latter detail suggests that Chardin is referring to deeper evils associated with pleasure-seeking activities. This becomes more apparent when one pairs the Washington House of Cards with its pendant, Girl With a Shuttlecock (Private Collection, Paris), which depicts a young girl wearing a white cap and a tight-fitted brown and white dress trimmed with blue ribbons. The cool palette corresponds to the limited palette of browns, blues, and whites that Chardin used in its pendant. Like the boy, she is neglecting her work; her scissors and sewing bag hang idly at her waist as she holds out her shuttlecock and racquet toward the boy making the house of cards. The implication is clear: the girl's game of shuttlecock gives rise to flightiness and frivolity while the boy's construction of a house of cards leads to knavery and moral laxity. Together, Chardin's The House of Cards and its pendant suggest a cautionary admonition on the adult game of love.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 6Issue 2Mar 2004 InformationCopyright 2004 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.To cite this article:Lisa Duffy-Zeballos.Jean-Siméon Chardin's The House of Cards.Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.Mar 2004.144-144.http://doi.org/10.1001/archfaci.6.2.144Published in Volume: 6 Issue 2: March 1, 2004PDF download