ART HISTORY - Chardin - Blowing bubbles

This is a painting by Jean-Simeon Chardin from around 1733-1734. We see a young boy blowing soap bubbles while another young boy looks at this activity. Chardin often painted children playing idle games. Here we see a girl with a racket and a shuttlecock. With much concentration this boy builds a house of cards. The concentration Chardin puts into his paintings reminds us of scenes painted by Vermeer. This theme of blowing bubbles was inspired by 17th century Dutch genre painting. Here we see a painting by Caspar Netscher in which a boy blows bubbles. We see a boy in the background blowing bubbles while another boy seems to be waiting for the bubble to come down again and to catch it perhaps with his head. And when he catches it with his head of course the bubble will be gone. Frans van Mieris another Dutch 17th century painter painted this boy blowing bubbles. In Dutch 17th century art blowing bubbles has the meaning of referencing to the fleeting nature of life. These 17th century paintings were based on allegorical images made by for example Henrik Holtius. This theme in art was called the Homoboula theme. Here we see an engraving by Henrik Holtius showing us a young child as a puto blowing bubbles resting on a skull. The flowers we see aren't in bloom anymore and there is smoke going up in the air coming from a vase. These were beloved symbols of man's mortality. We don't know for sure whether Chardin wanted to convey a certain message with this painting. In general blowing bubbles was considered a reference to the transience of life. Life is like a bubble so to speak. Chardin often made several versions of his compositions. Here we see for example the version in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. In this version he zooms out a little and he shows us more of the window around the boys. While both versions are equally attractive I tend to like the one with which I started this video from the Metropolitan Museum. It's more intimate than the other one. As a painter I like looking at the handling of his paint. Chardin is not a smooth painter. You can see the paint of the white sleeves seemingly applied over a dry earlier layer. It gets a certain roughness, one could say it has a certain bite. The structure of the paint in the forehead reminds me of Rembrandt's eruptions of paint. Chardin applied the paint with a structure so these parts could receive more light and shine more brightly. I like the way Chardin painted the bubble itself. He only used a few strokes, very effectively suggesting a watery bubble with minimal means. The central figure is a triangular shape in the composition of a painting that is square. It's a very solid composition. The distribution of light is very balanced. The forehead of the boy blowing bubbles catches most light. Chardin carefully doesn't dress the boy blowing bubbles in light clothing. By keeping his clothing of a mid-tone, Chardin can direct the viewer's gaze at the lighted motifs that are the most important. Although we see two children engaged in idle play, they are very concentrated on the bubble that is being created. The bubble will disappear soon, but there is this fleeting moment of beauty and wonder which these children in all seriousness experience and enjoy.