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Soap Bubbles of Jean-Siméon Chardin

June 30 – September 2, 1991
West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 75

Jean Siméon Chardin, Soap Bubbles, probably 1733/1734, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson, 1942.5.1

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: 3 versions of Soap Bubbles were on view. The paintings came from the National Gallery of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They were shown together with supporting material, including Chardin's painting of a woman playing knucklebones, a pendant of one version of Soap Bubbles; engravings made by Pierre Filloeul after Soap Bubbles and after Knucklebones; and x-radiographs of the paintings.

Organization: Philip Conisbee, curator of European painting and sculpture, and Joseph Fronek, senior conservator of paintings, both from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, organized the exhibition. Peter Lukehart, Mellon assistant curator of southern baroque painting, and Marcia Kupfer, associate curator of education exhibition programs, coordinated the exhibition at the National Gallery. Gaillard Ravenel and Mark Leithauser designed the exhibition, and Gordon Anson designed the lighting.

Attendance: 103,251

Brochure: Soap Bubbles of Jean-Siméon Chardin, by Marcia Kupfer. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1991.

Other Venues: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 18, 1990–January 20, 1991
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, February 19–June 16, 1991

Chardin, Jean Siméon
French, 1699 - 1779
"Soap Bubbles," probably 1733/1734, Jean Simeon Chardin
Video, Released: November 1, 2011, (1:58 minutes)