19th Century French Oil Painting on Board “Le “Benedicite” or Grace in Gilt Frame

$4,800

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This beautiful antique oil on board was painted in France circa 1830 in the manner of Chardin. Set inside its original gold leaf frame, the painting shows a humble peasant mother feeding breakfast to her two children. The interior of the home is simple, austere and calm. Excellent condition, wonderful colors. 18″W x 22″Le Benedicite” (English for Grace) is a painting by French artist Jean-Baptiste-Sim̩on Chardin (1699-1779); he made several versions of the painting, one of which was given as a gift to Louis XV in 1740. Chadian is well known for his depictions of humble, everyday life with a touch of sentimentality. Le B̩n̩dicit̩ shows a modest, middle-class interior scene, where a mother is laying the table for a meal. She instructs her children to say grace before eating. The younger of the children can easily appear a girl to the modern eye, if the drum hanging on the child-sized ladder-back chair is overlooked, and is indeed identified as such in Gardner. Rand and Bianco, however, quote the inscription on a contemporary engraving, describing the child as a boy, who has not yet been breached. The quiet, peaceful atmosphere is reinforced by the subdued color scheme, and the muted lighting. Chardin put much work into the arrangement of the various elements of his paintings. The composition here is meticulous, and the stability created by the triangular structure of the three figures also adds to the tranquility and balance of the scene. SKU: 75-782

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