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Jean-Siméon Chardin, 'The House of Cards', about 1740-1

About the work

Overview

A young boy stands at a small wooden table fully absorbed in building a house out of playing cards. He is Jean-Alexandre Le Noir, whose father, Jean-Jacques Le Noir, was a furniture dealer and cabinet-maker, who commissioned several paintings from Chardin.

The theme of a child building a house of cards was a familiar one in which the delicately balanced cards represent the fragile nature of human endeavour. Pictures of this subject were often accompanied by moralising verses, as was Chardin’s painting when it was engraved. But there may also be a family connection. As a maker of fine furniture, Monsieur Le Noir may have hoped his son would follow him into the business. The boy’s card building is perhaps not just a game but may also be an exercise in sound methods of construction.

The picture is one of four identified versions of The House of Cards painted by Chardin.

Key facts

Details

Full title
The House of Cards (Portrait of Jean-Alexandre Le Noir)
Artist dates
1699 - 1779
Date made
about 1740-1
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
60.3 × 71.8 cm
Inscription summary
Signed
Acquisition credit
Bequeathed by Mrs Edith Cragg, as part of the John Webb Bequest, 1925
Inventory number
NG4078
Location
Room 35
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
18th-century French Frame

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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