Dog and Game
1730
Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin (French, 1699-1779)
On View

Chardin, one of the great still-life painters of the 18th century, did not follow the traditional career path of his peers. He never trained at the French Academy or traveled to Italy to study the works of the Old Masters. Nevertheless, thanks in part to the support of fellow painter Nicolas de Largillière, Chardin was elected to the French Academy in 1728 and enjoyed considerable success.

In this painting, a hunter’s dog—likely an English pointer—guards the day’s catch. Poised to react, the dog gazes intently beyond the painting’s left edge. The alertness of its rigid pose is offset by the limp, lifeless bodies of the birds and rabbits. Intense lighting further dramatizes the scene, as the dog’s bright coat stands out sharply against the shadowy background. By introducing these elements of contrast, Chardin elevates a still-life subject into a nuanced moment, charged with suspense.

Details

  • Artist Name: Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin (French, 1699-1779)
  • Title: Dog and Game
  • Date: 1730
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 75-3/4 x 54-3/4 in. (192.4 x 139.1 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
  • Accession Number: F.1972.56.P
  • Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation

Object Information

?Comte du Luc (Jean-Baptiste Felix Hubert, marquis de Vintimille, 1720-1775), in 1759.
Joseph Aved (1702-1766), Paris (sale, Paris, 24 November 1766, no. 132, to);
Langlier.
Passalaqua, Germany (sale, 18-19 March 1853, no. 111).
Prince Gagarine, Russia and Saint Cloud, by 1910.
[Wildenstein & Co., Paris].
Enrique de Santa-Marina, Buenos Aires, by descent to;
Ramon J. Santa-Marina, Buenos Aires.
[Galerie Schmidt, Paris; sold 1972 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.

Salon

  • Paris, 1759 to
  • Goncourt, E.; and J. Goncourt, L'art du XVIII siècle, p. 186
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best,2010, cat. 894 p. 349
  • Lazarev, V., Chardin. Old European Masters,repr. pl. 182
  • G. Wildentstein, Le peintre Aved: sa vie et son oeuvre, 1702-1776,no. 132 p. 155
  • du Bourg, Alexis Merle, Chardin,2020, 76 p. 98
  • Mirimone, A. de, L'iconographie musicale sous les rois Bourbons. La musique dans les arts plastiques XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle, p. 16
  • Wildensein, G., Chardin,no. 676, pl. 53, fig. 69 p. 206
  • Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum,1989, p. 94
  • V. Lazarev, Chardin,pl. 5
  • Rosenberg, Pierre and Renaud Temperini, Chardin, pp. 27-31
  • H. Adhémar, Encyclopedia of World Art, p. 382
  • Rubin, James H., Impressionist Cats and Dogs,fig. 4 pp. 6-7
  • Wildenstein, G.; and D. Wildenstein, Chardin,no. 69, repr. fig. 33
  • Conisbee, Philip, Chardin,fig. 65 p. 74
  • Diana Magaloni, Itzel Rodriguez, Jennifer Stager, Camille Methieu, James Oles, Juan Coronel, Michele Greet and J. Leighten, Picasso and Rivera: Conversations Across Time,2016, p. 159 (ill.)
  • Lazarev, V., Chardin,repr. pl. 5
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Additional Artwork by Artist

Still Life with Cooking Utensils Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin c. 1728-30
Still Life with Fowl Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin c. 1728-30

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