Room 35

The boy in Chardin’s The House of Cards gives a small task his full attention. Look at the balance of the cards, then at how still the surrounding scene feels. His painting offers one approach to daily life among French pictures made for very different kinds of pleasure. In the early 1700s, patrons also sought light colours, curving forms and scenes of love or leisure. Later in the century, tastes shifted towards crisper outlines and subjects drawn from ancient history. The French Revolution changed the political setting again. Rather than treating every painting here as an illustration of its period, compare what each asks you to watch.