In the collection of Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia — check current display status with the museum.
FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG
Although French painter Jean-Siméon Chardin received the training of a formal history painter, he gravitated toward scenes of daily life. Once he was accepted into the French Academy in 1728, he showed still lifes and genre subjects at every annual Salon exhibition until his death in 1779. His paintings were popular among aristocratic, bourgeois, and royal collectors, and many were turned into engravings, which could be easily circulated. Woman Doing Wash depicts two domestic servants along with the child of their employer. Aristocratic viewers from Chardin's era may have been charmed by this shared moment between a child and his maid, but it is difficult as contemporary viewers to ignore the stark class differences on display.
Be the first to share your thoughts.
Sign in to join the discussion.
Jacobus Johannes Lauwers — Woman Drawing Water from a Well
Willem van Mieris — A Mother Feeding her Child (The Happy Mo
Hendrik van der Burgh — After Milking Time
Jean-Baptiste Greuze — The Laundress (La Blanchisseuse)
Quiringh Gerritsz. van Brekelenkam — De kleermakerswerkplaat
Govert Dircksz. Camphuysen — Flirtation in a Cowshed
Johannes Christiaan Janson — 'Good Neighbors'
Jean Siméon Chardin — The Kitchen Maid
Pieter Duyfhuysen — Peasant Family Singing
Cornelis Kruseman — Peasant Family in their Cottage
Ferdinand De Braekeleer (I) — Interior of an Inn, with Figur
Alexander Hugo Bakker Korff — De wafelbakster
