Still Life with Cooking Utensils by John Baptiste Simeon Chardin

Still life is one of the most popular genres in the European painting of the 17th century that contains various hidden details and meanings. The artists tried to convey the complex social conditions through a proper placement of fruits, the balance of light and shadow, and color depth. It requires a special preparation of the audience who should discern and decipher all the details, taking a distinct angle for interpretation. Still lives by Sebastian Stoskopff and John Baptiste Simeon Chardin are the perfect examples of art that have numerous hidden meanings and hints. Nevertheless, it does not necessarily need a deep knowledge of the cultural context or political conditions of Netherlands, but rather a close look at what is portrayed on the canvas. Due to the visual components, they convey opposite meanings, trying to create a dialog between the image and the viewer. However, the visual components by Stoskopff and Chardin represent opposite attitudes to life, symbolizing the conflict between different levels of abundance. While the first one expresses a rich, rational, but still lonely life through the expensive glasses, the second work articulates a poor and happy life in the form of a simple meal. Stoskopff in his Still Life with Empty Glasses painted various objects that are randomly scattered on the table. At first glance, this is surprising since the traditional still life always contains fruits, vegetables, or food. Instead, the artist decided to show the artificial objects, but not something from life. Nevertheless, every object is depicted in details, so the viewer even cannot fix them from the first point angle. First, the artist painted many glass items that were common among rich people. Some of the objects are inlaid with gold and precious stones. In addition, a golden bucket is depicted near the glasses, and small cups set out in a pyramid. Moreover, the artist portrayed other glasses, which are invisible due to their glass structure. Second, Stoskopff did not depict any additional objects in the interior hence there is only a dull background and brick wall on the left. Therefore, it creates a false impression of poverty, but it is the still life of prosperous life. Perhaps the artist revealed the remains of a feast, when after rich and grand tables only washed dishes remained. Stoskopff contained an important hidden meaning: rich people eat much food every time, but no one sees. In other words, their life is lonely, cold, and not focused on eternity. Aristocrats are the most pragmatic persons, and the picture gives an impression of the detached life. While Stoskopff depicted the isolation of rich people from real life, Chardin showed the simplest, but at the same time the vital reality of ordinary people. In fact, it is a simple still life in which there are no rich glasses, dishes, or complex curved light in the glass. The poor people could not afford to use such complicated things, and, therefore, they used simple things in everyday life. For example, Chardin depicts a clay bowl, where is a porridge or some other simple food. Besides, a pitcher with milk and the old copper pot are the example of everyday objects as well. There is neither gold, nor silver, but only simple and inexpensive material. On the other hand, Chardin, unlike Stoskopff depicted food in the simplest way. He did not paint lobsters or clams, but the usual rural food that can be found anywhere. Additionally, Chardin described two types of onions and a big piece of meat. He said that it was a daily diet of the common man without complexities and high hypocrisy of the aristocratic world. Nevertheless, the work of Chardin causes positive emotions, because it is natural and close to every person. He wanted to convey the world without unnecessary details, but a real and immediate. The world is full of hard life and suffering, but still people are not alone here. On the contrast, the aristocrats from Stoskopffs world reproduce various absurd rituals through the glass instruments but do not show real emotions. Still Life with Empty Glasses by Stoskopff has several important elements that underline the idea of a high social class. First, it uses simple and clean lines. Due to this principle, he transferred the austerity of the aristocracy and limited all the sentiments and feelings. Second, he did a special emphasis on light and color. It is dominated by gold, silver, and black that have symbolic meaning. Gold and silver indicate the presence of money and closed nature of the life of aristocrats. Black is important as well because it means intrigue and mystery. Everything in the picture is balanced and conquered by the aesthetic principle of harmony. The epicenter of the subject is silver, which shimmers light. In addition, the artist used repetition, because it means the interdependence of all elements, including the social classes. The artist skillfully transported this idea through a pleasant texture, so that the viewer can see the play of light, bends of items, and small-carved features. One more impressive detail is the mirrored windows in the glass, shown on the left. On the contrast, the visual elements of Chardin have a completely different meaning, because they are revealing the nature of ordinary life. In addition, the composition is conquered by the rational principle. There are more flexible lines, especially evident in the white cloth placed on the left. In general, there are no sophisticated accents, and everything was made with rough strokes testifies. The background without depth underlines the simple life one more time. Chardin pictured a simple brown wall with no object. Dark and dull colors dominate here, and red and green dilute them. They add life and pulse to this work, unlike the previous one. Chardin indicated the presence of a simple truth of life that cannot be hidden under details when Stoskopff focused on the difference between the outer and inner life. The work seems to be real and thus a piece of meat, onions, and pitchers are depicted as accurately as possible. According to this, Chardin chose a small format for transporting the images to real life. In addition, time plays a special significance here, articulating the essence of the idea. In the first work, the events occur during the day, which indicates the reflected light in the glass, but Chardins work does not have a concrete time or season. Perhaps, it is spring or summer, because of fresh food on the table. It further demonstrates the flourishing life that is devoid of artifice and hypocrisy. It must be concluded that the described works have the same genre, but represent different visual styles and opposite meanings, particularly in the context of aristocratic and simple life. Stoskopff tried to convey immutability and eternity of aristocratic life through brevity, rationality, and balance of subjects. At the same time, he drew attention to its coldness and aloofness, since hypocrisy, intrigue, and loneliness dominate there. There are numerous gold and bright accents, but there are no fruits or vegetables on the table. On the contrast, Chardins still life is close to real life, emphasizing spontaneity and simplicity of the ordinary people. It is opposed to the aristocracy, and there are no precious objects, just simple things as meat, onions, and pitchers. This is a poor life, but still happy and short, full of natural human emotions. Read more blogs on https://best-writing-service.net/