The Provider

A servant has just come in from the market. One hand rests on two large loaves on the sideboard, the other holds a cloth with a joint of meat poking out, and wine bottles stand at her feet. She has turned her head, as if someone just spoke to her. Through the open door behind her, another maid stands by a copper cistern in the back room. Chardin painted this subject three times. Two versions, both dated 1738, are in Ottawa and Berlin, and this one is signed on the wall at the left, Chardin 1739. In 1742 an engraving of the composition went on sale with a four-line verse underneath. It teases the girl that, judging by her looks, she pays for her clothes out of the household's shopping money. The painting hangs in Room 921.