Artwork
Still Life with a White Mug
Still Life with a White Mug is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. It dates from 1764 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting’s surface is smooth, with thinly layered pigment that allows subtle modulation of light, creating a quiet, domestic realism.
The work is executed in oil on canvas, measuring 33.1 cm by 41.2 cm, and belongs to the still‑life genre. Chardin employs a restrained palette and careful brushwork that emphasizes the tactile quality of the white mug against a muted background, a hallmark of his mature technique. The painting’s surface is smooth, with thinly layered pigment that allows subtle modulation of light, creating a quiet, domestic realism.
Its support is a plain canvas, typical of 18th‑century French practice, and the composition is balanced by the placement of the mug within a shallow spatial setting.
History & Provenance
Jean-Siméon Chardin created Still Life with a White Mug in 1764 as an oil painting on canvas. The work's earliest recorded owner was François-David Bollioud, seigneur de Saint-Julien, from whose collection it was auctioned at the Hôtel de Bullion in Paris on June 21, 1784. It subsequently passed through the hands of Dulac and Peter Adolf Hall before descending by inheritance to Mme. Lucie Ditte de Montgomery, a descendant of Hall's daughter.
Following a 1922 sale at Galerie Georges Petit, the painting was traded among major dealers including Wildenstein & Co., Kunsthandel AG, and Paul Cassirer between 1925 and 1929. It entered the collection of William R. and Lillian S. Timken by 1933 before being purchased in May 1937 by W. Averell and Marie N. Harriman. The W. Averell Harriman Foundation later gifted the artwork to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1972.
Still Life with a White Mug is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The museum acquired the painting in 1972 as a gift from the W. Averell Harriman Foundation. Prior to this donation, the work belonged to W. Averell and Marie N. Harriman, who purchased it in May 1937. The painting's earlier ownership history includes the Baron de Saint-Julien, whose estate was sold in Paris in 1784, and Peter Adolf Hall, whose descendants sold the work in 1922.
Between 1925 and 1933, the canvas passed through several dealers, including Wildenstein & Co. and Paul Cassirer, before entering the Timken collection in New York.
Overview
Jean Siméon Chardin's 'Still Life with a White Mug,' executed in 1764, is a quintessential example of the artist's mature still life practice. The oil-on-canvas composition arranges a white ceramic mug, a knife, and a selection of fruit including a pear and an apple upon a table surface. Chardin positions the mug to the right, with the knife lying horizontally before it, while the fruit clusters to the left, creating a balanced yet naturalistic grouping.
The work exemplifies the artist's departure from the ornate Rococo style prevalent in mid-18th-century France, favoring instead a sober, intimate observation of everyday domestic objects. Through his characteristic handling of paint, Chardin renders the textures of the ceramic, metal, and fruit skins with a tactile solidity and a muted, earthy palette. This painting reflects Chardin's enduring focus on the dignity of common things, a theme that defined his career and distinguished him from his contemporaries who often pursued more allegorical or decorative subjects.
The work stands as a testament to his ability to imbue simple arrangements with a sense of quiet permanence and visual harmony.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a humble still life arranged on a warm, brown wooden table. A white ceramic mug occupies the right side of the composition, with a knife positioned horizontally before it. To the left, a pear, an apple, and two additional fruits are carefully placed.
The dark, unadorned background serves to isolate and emphasize these common items, drawing the viewer's attention to their forms and relationships within the confined space.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jean Siméon Chardin (French:; November 2, 1699 – December 6, 1779) was an 18th-century French painter.
