The Copper Drinking Fountain Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin (1699-1779)

Description of the painting The Brass Water Tank by Jean Baptiste Chardin

The painting was painted in 1734 in oil on canvas.

The genre is still life. The direction in painting is rococo.

Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin was a French painter of the 18th century. His paintings won many awards. He painted portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. For his works he used his own style. He used a constant silvery gray hue for his images.

His still lifes are some of the most accomplished works by artists of the time. In them Chardin used simple, modest everyday objects. But what canvases they were! Simplicity and harmony were present in them like no other. He could picture a simple tank or jug with a kind of soulfulness that was unique to him.

"Copper Water Tank" is a work by Chardin that features a very modest set of things. The artist presents us with a copper ancient tank in which in past centuries people used to store water in their homes, with a clay jug standing next to it. It also looks very modest and austere in the overall background of the painting.

Under the carved copper faucet stands an iron container in which to draw water. An equally simple and ancient object attracts the eye - a ladle. All these objects are admirable. They are very simple, used daily in everyday life, but how skillfully they are made and transferred to our perception by the artist.

Chardin masterfully depicted the shade of copper and iron. On the ladle we can see the rivets that are made to hold the beautiful handle. The surface inside is purposely depicted in a non-uniform manner, as if it had been exposed to water for more than a decade. There are two iron handles on the jug that were used to carry the tank to where it was needed. The simple water tank of the last century had a modest appearance, but was made as if it were a work of art.

It shows the viewer all the skill of the artist and his use of tone and light and shade effects.

The painting is kept in the Louvre. France.