Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin

(November 2, 1699 - December 6, 1779)

Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (November 2, 1699 - December 6, 1779) was an 18th-century French painter. He is considered a master of still life.

Chardin was born in Paris, the son of a cabinetmaker, and rarely left the city. He lived on the Left Bank near Saint-Sulpice until 1757, when Louis XV granted him a studio and living quarters in the Louvre.

Chardin entered into a marriage contract with Marguerite Saintard in 1723, whom he did not marry until 1731. He served apprenticeships with the history painters Pierre-Jacques Cazes and Noel-Nicholas Coypel, and in 1724 became a master in the Academie de Saint-Luc.