Chardin and Proust, on the Beauty of the Everday

Still Life with Plums, 1730

Rather I should say: Me, on Chardin and Proust, on the beauty of everyday things like jugs, water, and fruit in an article up on Escape Into Life magazine.  Being able to see the beauty in the commonplace is surely a quality to be valued.  Chardin’s still life above looks nothing like my messy kitchen table–but then perhaps it does more than I can appreciate.

I’d love to hear what you think about the article.  This train of thought spun off my enjoyment of De Botain’s How Proust Can Change Your Life, an enjoyable book I shared earlier this month here and also worth a look.

Refreshment on a Summer Afternoon

Basket of Wild Strawberries

One would be lucky to find oneself with Chardin’s bowl of strawberries one hot summer day washed down simple water. Nothing pretentious here–just a glorious warm red, and earthy immediacy, and a beautifully painted piece of carefully rendered depths. It looks as if you could reach in and pick one.

The quality of Chardin’s naturalistic painting in the 17th-century Dutch tradition was exceptional and his success as a painter of animals, birds, and fruit was immediate. The critic Diderot wrote in 1767, “One pauses instinctively in front of a Chardin like a weary traveler who sits down . . . in a grassy spot that offers silence, water, shade, and a cooling breeze.” I agree. 

May your long last weekend of summer be full of wild strawberries.