The Peeler

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection, where *The Peeler* (1742) captivates with its everyday elegance. This engraving by Bernard Lepicié reproduces a painting by Jean Siméonardin, the master of 18th-century French Rococo domestic scenes. Chardin, celebrated for elevating humble subjects like food and household tasks into poetic compositions, likely depicts a woman intently peeling vegetables—a motif drawn from his iconic still lifes and genre works that humanize ordinary life. Printed on a trimmed sheet measuring 14 5/8 × 10 3/16 inches, the engraving showcases Lepicié's meticulous technique. Engravings like this were vital in the Rococo era, allowing affordable dissemination of prestigious paintings to a wider audience beyond elite collectors. Chardin's soft lighting and realistic textures—rendered through fine lines and subtle tonal gradations—highlight the tactile quality of vegetables and the quiet dignity of labor, reflecting Enlightenment-era appreciation for the domestic sphere. Acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1953, this print invites us to savor the artistry in the mundane, bridging 18th-century Paris kitchens with modern viewers. A testament to collaboration between painter and printmaker, it underscores how engravings preserved and popularized Chardin's enduring legacy.

About the Artist

Bernard Lepicié|Jean Siméon Chardin (French|French|French) · 1699 |1698 |1698 –1779 |1755 |1755

French, Paris 1699–1779 Paris|French, Paris 1698–1755 Paris|French, Paris 1698–1755 Paris