Woman Drawing Water from a Water Urn (The Water Urn)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

The Paris-born artist Jean-Siméon Chardin was one of the most popular painters of genre scenes, or images of daily life, during the 18th century. His paintings were sought by aristocratic patrons from across Europe, and many were turned into engravings, which brought him an even larger audience. Chardin's fascination with genre scenes contrasted with the large-scale history paintings that were prized by the French academic painters and that were a staple of the annual Salon exhibitions. This painting depicts a washwoman drawing water from a large copper urn. The objects around the room refer to the many duties she and her companion in the background perform in the household. The pans and hanging carcass allude to cooking meals, the broom and firewood to cleaning and warming the house, and the child in the background to child minding.

Source ↗