Kimbell Art Museum Restores Chardin's The Cut Melon and Its Original Frame
The Kimbell Art Museum has put Jean Siméon Chardin's The Cut Melon (1760) back on display after conservation work on the painting and its original frame. The frame is a rare survival for an Old Master painting, and with it the work can now be seen as it appeared at its first exhibition, the Paris Salon of 1761. Chardin is regarded as one of the greatest still-life painters in art history, and The Cut Melon is considered one of his most remarkable works. The museum acquired the painting last year; it had been held in distinguished private collections since the eighteenth century. Before treatment, decades of benign neglect and discolored varnish had cast the picture in warm tones. Cleaning restored Chardin's cooler tonality, especially in the marble tabletop, the pitcher, and the melon's rind.
Key facts
- Jean Siméon Chardin's The Cut Melon (1760) is back on view at the Kimbell Art Museum after conservation.
- The conservation treatment covered both the painting and its original frame.
- The original frame is a rarity for Old Master paintings.
- With the frame, the work can be seen as it appeared at the Paris Salon in 1761.
- The Kimbell acquired the painting last year.
- The painting had been preserved in distinguished private collections since the eighteenth century.
- Before cleaning, decades of benign neglect and discolored varnish had veiled the work in warm tones.
- The treatment restored Chardin's cooler tonality, particularly in the marble tabletop, the pitcher, and the melon's rind.
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Kimbell Art Museum
- Paris Salon
Locations
- Paris
- France