Still Life with Two Rabbits 1755

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin made this evocative still life with oil on canvas sometime in the mid-18th century. It depicts two dead rabbits laid casually on a stone shelf alongside a game bag. Still life as a genre had been around for a while by the time Chardin began to paint. But in France, the Academy largely considered it a lower form of art. History painting, with its moralizing narratives, was seen as far more important. So what are we to make of Chardin’s decision to focus his attention on such humble subject matter? Perhaps he was making a subtle commentary on the rigid hierarchy of the Academy itself. Or maybe he was aligning himself with a rising merchant class, one that was keen to celebrate the objects of everyday life. To better understand Chardin's intentions, we can look at the writings of art critics from the time and examine the exhibition records of the French Royal Academy. This will allow us to fully appreciate how social and institutional factors influence artistic meaning.