Online Document Assignment 18

IMAGINING THE INNER LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL

Paintings by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin

Eighteenth-century observers were well aware that theirs was a society undergoing a significant social and cultural transformation. They noticed the effects of population growth, the new habits of consumption, and the altered economics of the countryside, even if they lacked the tools to accurately define and quantify these phenomena. They also took note of more subtle shifts, such as changes in the way people imagined themselves and their relationships with others. Increasingly, the reflections of thinkers, artists, and writers on their own society turned inward, giving new prominence to the inner life of the individual and the role of emotions in creating social bonds.

Perhaps no other eighteenth-century artist embodies this shift as completely as Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779). The son of a cabinetmaker, Chardin began his career as an apprentice, learning his craft from masters who specialized in history paintings, the most prestigious genre for an early-eighteenth-century artist. Chardin, however, would gain fame by producing scenes not of famous battles, but of quiet moments—of private spaces and personal relationships. His success, like his subject matter, reflected a culture in transition. On the one hand, he rose through the ranks of France’s most important artistic institutions and societies, and Louis XV championed his work, granting him a royal pension. On the other, he gained a substantial income from the sale of reproductive engravings of his most popular paintings, which brought his images within the financial means of the middle classes. As you examine these Chardin paintings, ask yourself what might explain their appeal to a wide eighteenth-century audience. Why were eighteenth-century observers so enthralled by Chardin’s ability to capture the inner life of his subjects?

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