The Woman Drawing Water at the Cistern

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The Woman Drawing Water at the Cistern

Artist Jean-Siméon Chardin (French, 1699-1779)

Place of OriginFrance

Dateabout 1733-1739

DimensionsPainting: 15 5/8 × 12 1/2 in. (39.7 × 31.8 cm)
Frame: 21 3/4 × 18 1/2 × 2 1/2 in. (55.2 × 47 × 6.4 cm)

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

2006.2

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 27

Label TextBecause The Woman Drawing Water at the Cistern and The Washerwoman (to the left) had been owned by a single family throughout most of their history, they are remarkably well preserved. Unlike many paintings of their age (nearly 300 years old), the canvases have never been relined—a process in which the painting is carefully transferred to a new canvas—and are still on their original stretchers. As a result, their paint surfaces are essentially untouched and maintain their vibrant brushstrokes and stunning color harmonies. Though not original to the paintings, the French Louis XV carved oak and gilded frames from the early 1700s make a handsome and appropriate match for the canvases.Published ReferencesToledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, pp. 192-93, repr. (col.).

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, pp. 24-25, repr. (col.).

Zafran, Eric, "French Eighteenth-century Paintings in American Museums", in Burlington Magazine, August 2017, vol. CLIX, p. 668ff.

Wine, Humphrey and National Gallery (Great Britain), The Eighteenth Century French Paintings, London, National Gallery Company, 2018, p. 86-88.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Paris, Cleveland, Boston, Chardin 1699-1779, 1979, nos. 55 and 57 (Woman Drawing Water at the Cistern), and nos. 56 and 58 (The Washerwoman) (exh. cat. .) See also Paris, Düsseldorf, London, Chardin, NY, 1999-2000, no. 34 (The Washerwoman). See also [for the exhibition history of variants] Chardin 1699-1779, exh. cat. (Paris, Cleveland, Boston, 1979), nos. 55 and 57 (Woman Drawing Water at the Cistern), nos. 56 and 58 (The Washerwoman).

See also Chardin, exh. cat. (Paris, Düsseldorf, London, NY, 1999-2000), no. 34 (The Washerwoman).