Chardin, a Proto-Impressionist 18th-Century Painter
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A totem of French painting, and, according to the Cimabue expert himself Éric Turquin, the most beautiful work ever to pass through his hands, Chardin's Basket of Wild Strawberries has a multimillion estimate. Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779), The Basket of Wild Strawberries, oil on canvas, signed “Chardin” lower left, 38 x 46 cm/15 x 18 in. Estimate: €12/15 M Presented at the Salon in 1761 and copied by draftsman and artist Gabriel de Saint-Aubin in the margin of his copy of the booklet, The Basket of Wild Strawberries was not blessed with the attention of 18th-century critics. A century later, in 1862, Charles Blanc finally mentions “a
